


a clash of lightning-bolts

by coveredinthecolors



Category: The Vampire Diaries & Related Fandoms, The Vampire Diaries (TV)
Genre: F/M, Mates, Monster!Klaus, Smut, fairytale AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-27
Updated: 2018-10-31
Packaged: 2019-08-08 14:14:03
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 42,010
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16430969
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/coveredinthecolors/pseuds/coveredinthecolors
Summary: Caroline lives in a tower.Her parents locked her up in there, told her it would be safer for her this way. You see, Caroline caught the attention of a monster. There's a hungry beast hunting for her.They call him the Hybrid. He's the one who haunts everyone's nightmares.And you probably think she should be scared, don't you? That she should wish he would never find her.But the thing is... She knows him as Klaus. The man who showed up in her dreams for countless nights and held her close. Who whispered the most beautiful things in her ear, who made her so many promises. The man she is in love with.





	1. prologue

**Author's Note:**

  * For [labime](https://archiveofourown.org/users/labime/gifts).



> Hello!  
> So, I just wanted to say, I had a lot of fun working on this gift for you and I know I got *a little* carried away, but I hope you enjoy this story as much as I enjoyed writing it!  
> Thank you to everyone who heard me whine about this on tumblr. And special thanks to Angie for encouragement and for helping me out!  
> Title from a Neruda sonnet (“loving is a clash of lightning-bolts”)

Once upon a time there was a beautiful girl.

Beautiful, yes, but smart and cunning and ruthless, too. She was gentle and loving and taken for granted. She was graceful and kind and underestimated.

Little Caroline Forbes. Sweet Caroline Forbes.

Not good enough. Not strong enough.

Never enough.

But pretty and lovely… She needed to be sheltered, you see?

Don’t tell her anything, don’t let her know. It’s too dangerous, she couldn’t handle it.

Does that make her too curious? Does she insist too much?

Here’s what you should do:

Does she ask too many questions? Tell her to be quiet.

Does she ask  _ the wrong _ questions? Tell her it’s not what good, nice girls do.

Tell her she’s inappropriate and shallow. Shut her up. Let her be a quiet, pretty doll. Tell her to look beautiful and smile.

Does that not work?

Oh… Lock her in a tower

 

* * *

 

Once upon a —

Oh, no. That’s not how he’d like his story to be told.

You see, he’s no prince charming.

And if this is a fairytale, then you may call him the monster in the shadows, the big bad wolf lurking in the woods.

Don’t worry. He doesn’t quite have a liking for fragile old grandmas or little girls wearing red hoods. They are too skinny, anyway. Bony little things with not enough meat.

That is not to say he isn’t hungry, though.

His tastes are just very specific.

His mouth waters when he thinks of the pretty blonde girl he sees in his dreams. And — make no mistake — it is hunger that takes hold of him whenever he recalls the one time he saw her in the real world.

All that lovely creamy skin, that golden hair… Her pulse beating so rapidly underneath his fingertips as he touched her.

Caroline — his Caroline.

Perhaps  _ you  _ should worry, sweetheart.

Because, oh, please understand. This isn’t like the stories you’ve certainly read. There will be no hunter showing up to save you from this wolf.

No one can cut his belly and get you out.

You’ve carved yourself a place inside of him much deeper than that; you’re stuck in his very bones. You could even say in his very soul…

But we all know he doesn’t have one.


	2. I

It’s cold.

It’s always so very cold in this place. And not even the beautiful, snowy kind. It is dreadful and lonely and grey.

The wind isn’t playful; it doesn’t make her hair dance. It makes her bones tremble. It makes terrifying noises that kept her awake at night for the first few weeks.

But after awhile you get used to it. You get used to everything.

Or at least that’s what she tells herself.

She is okay now. She doesn’t mind this place anymore, doesn’t mind the solitude. She’s adapted. They say she would be in danger otherwise, so what other choice did she have?

Of course… A bird can get used to its gilded cage existence, but that does not mean it doesn’t dream of freedom. Even if the outside world has cats lurking and eyeing them with hungry eyes.

Sometimes she wishes she could go outside, wishes that she could sink her feet in the dirt. Just so that they wouldn’t always be touching that marble floor.

Still, she supposes that, as far as prisons go, hers isn’t that bad.

There is a library full of books that she loses herself in when she wants to escape this reality. There’s enough magic in this place that her needs are always met. Food can always be found in the pantry. The fireplaces are always filled with wood. There’s always hot water in her bathtub whenever she needs to use it.

But, God, what wouldn’t she give for some company. For just once having someone to look at, to talk to.

To touch.

It’s been 207 days she’s been here.

In the beginning, she’d get letters every day. Her parents, her friends would write her about everything… And then, slowly, they started to forget.

A week would go by without any news until the letters came filled with _I’m so sorry, Caroline! I’ve been so busy lately!_

Busy. They were always too busy to pay any attention to her. Even when she saw them every day. But that’s alright. That’s okay. She understands.

But, it’s just… It’s been over a month since she had received her last one — from her mother. It wasn’t even the full length of the page.

They had forgotten her, left her behind, when _they_ had been the ones to send her away.

 _Mother, father_ … Wasn’t she your little girl? What happened? Why did you abandon her?

Please, she just wants to understand.

Because she doesn’t know why. She just trusted you when you said this was for the best, that she would be safer this way. _But safe from what, mommy? Were you just trying to keep me alive, daddy?_

But listen, please. This life is not worth living.

If you would just tell her why. If you would just let her know that you are working to change this. Give her a little hope.

She isn’t stupid. She knows it has to do with the Hybrid. She knows that _Klaus —_ as he introduced himself to her — was the cause of all this. That he showed up and you sent her away. But what does he want from her? If you know, then why won’t you tell her?

When she told you about her dreams, when she told you about him… You were supposed to help. You were supposed to hold her and promise that everything was going to be okay. But you just gave her an enchanted necklace to keep him away from her dreams and told her to shut up when she asked why she should bother.

And then you sent her away and… Where are you now?

Please. She’s used to this, she can handle it… But why should she? Give her a reason not to yearn for freedom. Give her a reason to feel safe in this empty tower. Give her a reason to fear the outside… To fear the monster who has only ever been kind to her.

 _Please_. Please just— give her something to go on.

Anything.

 

* * *

 

They’ve taken her from him.

Klaus held her in his arms and they took her away.

How did he let this happen? How did they know that he would go after her? How could have they known who she is, what she means to him? How were they so certain that he would hunt her?

He can imagine the stories they must have told her, the truths they tainted with lies to coax those dreams from her lips.

Caroline, sweetheart, you didn’t have to be scared. He takes good care of what belongs to him. He could never hurt you. Please don’t think that low of him.

Oh, well, it doesn’t really matter now, does it?

He will find you, love. He will find you, and he won’t let you go a second time.

You will stay with him. Just as it should be.

 

* * *

 

Caroline doesn’t usually enjoy staring out the window.

The view of the outside seems to only be there to mock her. A reminder of what she isn’t allowed to have. A reminder of what she lost. And it is so hard to face it and not to break, to look upon the horizon and not imagine what could be.

Sometimes, she can’t quite help the pull she feels, though.

Sometimes she takes quiet steps towards it and places her trembling hands on the window stool. She shivers from the cold, and her eyes water both from the wind and from the awful pain in her heart.

Sometimes… Sometimes she dares hope — it’s stupid, she knows — that she will see someone coming. That she will smile down at her mother and run downstairs to hug her. And isn’t it sad that she is so desperate to get out of this place that she considers forgiving them?

But it doesn’t matter. No one is coming. Deep down, she knows that.

All she gets is the occasional animal showing up, only to be stopped about ten meters from the tower’s door by the magical barrier that shields this place. It is the closest to company she gets.

Today she sees some rabbits who curiously sniff around the protection spell for a few moments before deciding it was not worth more of their time.

She watches them wander off back into the forest. She wants to beg them to stay.

Cursed princesses in the beginning of fairy tales always had the company of animals, didn’t they? Why can’t she have at least that?

She shakes her head.

Forgive her if she sometimes entertains these ridiculous ideas. She _knows_ she isn’t a damsel in distress waiting for her prince charming, okay? Please don’t think her weak like everyone else seems to do.

It’s just— It’s so _hard_.

And if she sometimes wishes that _he_ would truly come for her, like he promised he would so many nights ago… God. Is it truly so bad that she just needs him to hold her like he used to do in her dreams?

A bitter smile spreads across her lips. All this so that she could escape from him, and there she is, yearning for him. Missing him. You would be so disappointed in her, wouldn’t you, mommy?

She lingers by the window for some more time. Watching the clouds high above, watching the birds flying and wondering what that would feel like. In the end it just leaves her feeling more and more miserable.

The sun is already setting and she can feel her fingers growing numb from the cold. And still, she stays for one more moment, knowing that it’ll likely take her awhile to build up the courage to come here and watch the outside again.

She’s almost ready to walk away when she sees it.

A wolf.

Except… Much bigger than wolves are supposed to be. More beautiful, too, with its golden brown pelt and eyes so yellow she can see even from a distance.

There is something regal about the way it carries itself. It almost reminds her of— No. She knows that is just desperate, wishful thinking. Perhaps she’s finally losing her mind because of the solitude. She would’ve smirked at the thought of her parents coming for her only to find an insane, hollow woman when they got there, but she is too focused on the animal approaching the tower.

Caroline holds her breath with each of its steps, expecting something to happen… She catches herself wondering if the barrier will be enough to hold it back.

She laughs at how silly she was to even consider it wouldn’t when the wolf is stopped just like any other animal. Bonnie was a Bennett witch, after all. Of course her spell would work.

But unease grows quickly inside of her again when the wolf doesn’t turn around like any other animal would’ve done. It lingers there. As if waiting, as if planning. It takes a few steps to the right, following the barrier, sniffing at it.

And then it stops, and, as if sensing her curious stare, it raises its head and looks right at her.

Something inside of her tells to run.

There is no room to argue with that feeling, with those instincts. She gasps, hurriedly stepping back. All she knows is that she needs to get away from the window. Away from the wolf and its yellow eyes and hungry gaze.

Later, she will tell herself she was being silly. What harm could an animal who could not even get inside her tower do to her, after all?

But something like fear tainted with something that feels dangerously like enticement leaves a bitter taste on her mouth. It coats her throat with its gelidness.

She forces herself to shake her head, to clear her mind.

There’s nothing coming for you. No danger, no prince. Nothing and no one. Stupid, stupid girl. You’re all alone.

You’d do well to remember that.

 

* * *

 

Before she goes to bed, she dares peak out of the window again, the menacing presence outside calling to her despite her better judgement.

The wolf is still there. Its eyes seem to glow in the darkness, and they linger on the window of her bedroom. On her.

There is something famished in the face of that predator. Caroline shivers as she realizes he considers her prey, but she doesn’t force herself to step away again so easily.

She holds its gaze with the stubbornness and determination that got her sent away to this tower. She has never played the part of the good, quiet girl very well, you see. She doesn’t think she’ll ever learn how to.

She still can’t shake off the feeling that this wolf resembles _him_ , though.

Absent-mindedly, she touches the necklace she was told never to take off.

There are no visits from him when she wears it. No sweet words and soft caresses and his goddamn dimples. And that sounds like a blessing, doesn't it? Never having to see him again, never having those hands that are tainted with so much blood touch her.

But she misses him.

Her smile is somewhere between sad and bitter. What would they think if they knew how much sweet Caroline Forbes cares for that monster? How much she misses his touches, and his kisses on her skin. And the way he looks at her, with such devotion in his eyes.

Klaus… She is _so_ _scared_.

They said so many things about you. Horrible things. And when she tried to know more, when she began to ask the questions she so desperately needed the answer for… They told her to shut up. They told her she didn’t have to know why you haunted her dreams, why you came for her.

They locked her in this tower… Because they were afraid you would hurt her.

Is she silly for believing that you wouldn’t? Is she silly for believing in the promises you’ve made her?

She knows now what you are. She knows the things you’ve done. Oh, Klaus… She knows you are a monster. She understands that. You told her yourself, didn’t you? The one night she disobeyed the order to never take that necklace off and let you come to her.

You confessed to all your crimes. Not like the sinner who seeks repentance from a priest; nor like a criminal who’s driven with guilt and confesses their wrongdoings to the judge. No…

You told her that you kill and you torture and you torment with such normalcy, as if was so inconsequential… And the only thing that troubled you was how she pulled back from your touch.

_Caroline, please._

She laughs now, staring at the wolf through her tear-filled eyes as the memories of that night flood her mind.

How dare your voice be so soft? How dare you wipe away her tears with such heartbreaking tenderness? How dare you… How dare you promise that you will come for her? That you will find her.

And she is so confused. Because she knows she should hope that you will not be able to do so or that you were lying to her… But, oh, it warms her heart to think that you would try. To think that you would care so much.

It’s desperately selfish, isn’t it? To remember every little sign he gave her that there is a man past the monster. To want to see that man. She should focus on all the pain and the misery he causes, but she cannot forget the smiles he brought to her lips.

With a heavy sigh, she allows herself to take her eyes off the beast on the ground and look up. She wishes she could say the nights were beautiful out here. She wishes the sky was filled with stars… She wishes she could look up at them and wish.

What should she wish for?

She shakes her head. Wishes upon stars were for silly little girls. If there was something she wanted, she would have to earn it herself.

Her mind is still too consumed with the thoughts of dimples and blue eyes and dirty blond curls.

And she should know better, she truly should. Try to overlook this flaw that isn’t quite small, but that is perfectly understandable. All she wishes for tonight is not to be alone. All she wishes for tonight is for someone to hold her hand.

Caroline stares at the wolf as she reaches to take off her necklace. The beast howls outside, and she finds herself smiling… There is something feral about that baring of teeth. Like there is a predator inside of her as well.

The metal chain drops from her fingers and clinks on the ground. The sound is freeing.

She spares the animal one last looks before she nods her goodbye.

Her hands are trembling as she approaches her bed, anticipation electrifying her body, and she isn’t even sure if she’ll be able to fall asleep.

However, the warm bed and the familiar whistle of the wind outside make her consciousness fade fast. Darkness sweeps in and takes hold of her.

 

* * *

 

Her dream starts like it always does.

She’s lying on a bed that isn’t the one she fell asleep on, and she blinks at the once unfamiliar ceiling before his voice calls her name. She doesn’t usually hesitate, but tonight she takes some time to turn her head and look at him.

Caroline doesn’t know what to feel when her eyes meet his. She doesn’t know if she should share the relief that is so clear on his face and respond in kind to the temptive smile he offers her… Or if she should just close her eyes and hope for a better dream.

But he’s here, and, God… Having him this close makes something inside of her sitrr.

“Hello, love,” he greets her softly. He’s leaning against the wall, his gaze locked on her, analyzing her every movement. “It’s been a while.”

She nods as she sits up, moving her legs so they are hanging from the side of the bed. Her hands grip the sheets as she forces herself to keep looking at him. There is so much she wants to say. There is so much she still needs to ask… And yet she can’t quite find her voice now that he’s close.

She wants to tell him that it hurts. She wants to tell him that she’s scared. The tight knot in her throat keeps the words in.

He opens his mouth and closes it. He probably can’t think of what to say, either, but he pushes himself from the wall and walks closer to her. His steps are slow as he takes in her reaction to him approaching her.

Caroline almost laughs at how this monster could be so considerate.

Her heart rings loud in her ears as the bed dips besides her. His presence is warm and all consuming. And he isn’t even touching her, but she can feel him in her veins. She lets out a shuddering breath.

“I’m tired,” she says simply. She doesn’t bother hiding the brokenness in her voice.

His body is half-turned towards her; his full, unwavering attention always on her. This is so familiar and there is something so comforting in knowing that he cares, that he’ll see her and that he’ll listen to her.

Is she weak for craving that? Is she weak for accepting those things from him?

Klaus sighs, as if it pains him to know that she’s suffering. His voice is tender and full of understanding when he says, “I know. But it’ll get better soon, sweetheart. I promise you.”

She doesn’t quite mean to, but she scoffs at his words. “You made me a lot of promises.”

Caroline isn’t surprised when he reaches out, but finally having him touch her makes her shiver. His long fingers gently hold her chin, urging her to turn to look at him. And, oh, she considers fighting him. She isn’t sure she wants to look up close at the face of that monster.

_But then why I am here?_

What she hates most about looking at him is how well she knows he’ll be able to read her. But Caroline Forbes is no coward.

She hates the softness in his gaze, too. She hates that it makes her stomach turn on its own and her heart skip a beat. She hates that her skin is begging to touch more of his.

“And I intend on fulfilling each and every one of them,” he vows.

There is nothing in his eyes that make her think he’s lying. She hates herself for how much she wants to believe in him.

He move his hand so that he’s cupping her cheek. Caroline closes her eyes as she leans into his touch. Vulnerable… Why is she allowing herself to be vulnerable in front of this beast?

But when he requests “Come here, love,” as he pulls her closer with his other arm… She doesn’t stop him. She rests her head on his chest, allows him to move closer as he holds her tight.

Something inside of her shatters.

She won’t cry. She has spent far too long doing so during these lonely months… She thinks she’s all dried up now. There are no more tears left in her.

“I hate you,” she whispers against his neck, though her hands are clinging to his shoulders, her fingers digging in as if she is afraid he might vanish.

His hand is sprawled across her back, running up and down her spine soothingly. “I know.”

The Hybrid of Nekrotheke… Half-man, half something else. The man who gave her such pleasant dreams is also the monster who haunts everyone’s nightmares.

Funny, isn’t it?

It’s not the word she would use to describe her situation, mind you, but even she agrees that the universe has a wicked sense of humour. Lady Caroline Forbes… She should marry a nobleman. Someone worthy and kind and charming. But instead she’s locked away in a tower because she’s captured the attention of the beast that plagues these lands.

And he’s captured hers, there’s no point denying that.

“Why?” she asks, though she’s unsure of what exactly she’s inquiring about. There’s so much she needs to know, so much he has to tell her…

Klaus presses his lips to her hair. It makes her grip onto him tighter. She has missed having anyone touch her, but him? These chaste exchanges, just having him close… Her heart ached everyday for it. And now it’s finally happening again.

“Oh, sweet one, there’s so much I have yet to tell you. There’s so much you don’t know.”

She pulls back immediately, needing to be looking into his eyes as she demands, “Tell me.”

He laughs softly, and reaches out again to trace her cheek with his knuckles. “I will tell you everything you need to know very soon, Caroline. Do not worry. I will explain everything.”

“Why can’t you explain it now?”

She knows something is wrong when he looks away for a moment. Klaus never hesitates… But she never gives up. She stares at him, unimpressed, until his eyes meet hers again.

“I want to be with you once I do,” he tells her quietly in a way that makes her think there is more to it.

He seems amused by the anger in her face, which only serves to enrage her further. “I’m here now,” she says, not bothering to conceal her displeasure. “Is this not enough?”

She knows his answer the second her question leaves her lips.

It could never come close to being enough. Not when they’ve met in the real world, when they’ve touched each other with their real bodies. She can feel him here; his touches, his breath on her skin…  But that night when he really touched her hand… That smallest brush of skin was enough to electrify everything she is.

“No,” he says. There is something like longing on his face and she knows he’s recalling their brief time together same as her. His eyes seem to be saying _more, more, more, more._

It’s her time to look away for a moment.

He’s always so intense, so assured of what he wants… It’s scary and thrilling and she finds herself enjoying how much he _knows_ this is what he wants. That she is what he wants.

“I… What even is this? I mean, is this just a dream?”

She knows it isn’t. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have recognized her in the real world, he wouldn’t have known about the dreams, but… She needs to hear him say it. She needs to hear him say that this is all real.

Klaus takes her hand in his and ever-so-slowly brings it to his lips. Her eyelids flutter for the second that lip-to-skin touch lasts.

“For now.”

She scoffs at his non-answer, but he just smiles and presses a kiss to her palm. She knows she should pull it away; she knows she should be putting as much distance as she could between them, that she shouldn’t even have come tonight.

But, God, it is so difficult to remember to stop now.

“I believe,” he begins, looking a little uneasy, “that our time is nearly over for tonight, sweetheart. But I will see you again very soon, and then we will not be parted again… Try not to miss me.”

He smirks at her in a way that he knows will infuriate her, but before she has even had the time process what he said, she feels her head getting heavier. His grip on her hand become a ghostly touch, until it disappears.

Until everything disappears.

 

* * *

 

Caroline hates the disappointment that settles in her bones when she wakes up looking for him and he’s nowhere to be found.

 _Last night was a mistake_ , she reasons with herself. She should never have allowed him in again. And why did she do it? She didn’t even get a single answer from him. She only let him hold her and touch her… Foolish, weak girl. Don’t you know better than to spend time with monsters? Why are you allowing him to see all the weaknesses he could exploit?

He’s not your friend. He doesn’t have friends.

_But why does he look at me like he cares? But why does he listen and understand? Why does he hold me so close? Why does he bother? No one else ever did. Is this just a game? Is he playing with his food?_

She wishes she knew.

And perhaps she’s just being stupid — and if so, please try to forgive her —, but she truly can’t help but believe that he’s telling her the truth. That he cares for her, that he wants to have her close.

But even if that is the case, why should she accept it? He’s evil and has struck fear in the heart of all of those in these lands. Why should she ever want to be with someone like him?

She’s heard stories from the Hybrid ever since she was a child.

Nekrotheke is his home. The place the gods have forsaken and no one dares venture into. The dark woods in the North are haunted, everyone says. Humanity has lost the war there, and only the most monstrous beasts can survive that place. And he rules over them all.

Still, his bloodthirstiness had never been sated only with the piece of land that was given to him like a sacrifice to appease an angry God. He has always wandered south, he has always craved more.

The Hybrid enjoys it. He enjoys attacking the unsuspecting victim. Everyone knows that. _Don’t go into the forest, don’t wander off alone at night. Or the big bad wolf might come for you._

… Oh, mommy. You always warned her, didn’t you? And she was a good girl. She stayed inside, she didn’t go alone into the woods. But he came for her anyway.

Is it awful that it makes her feel special? Is it awful that it makes her feel warm?

 _Of course it is,_ she thinks as she gets up. But the shudder that goes through her as her bare feet touch that too-familiar cold floor… It makes it hard to care. It makes it hard no to think about last night with relief.

It felt good to be held, to be touched.

It felt good to see him.

Because it wasn’t the Hybrid who came for her, but Klaus. And Klaus has a place in her heart… And it’s easy to forget or to ignore that other part of him. It’s easy to want to overlook it.

She shakes her head. She still hates him, she is still scared… But she is curious, too. She wants to know what all of this means, she wants to know what he wants. She wants to know if _she_ is what he wants.

But the truth is… It doesn’t matter either way. He’s still a monster, and she’s still stuck in this place.

Another lonely day on this lonely tower is all the awaits her.

 

* * *

 

Eat. Bath. Read. Play the piano. Sing. Read. Write. Eat. Sleep.

God, what a boring way to live your life. She has always dreamed of traveling, of seeing the world… And now she’s stuck here. The same walls, the same rooms, the same options of what to do.

Talking to Klaus makes her way too painfully aware of what was robbed of her the moment they decided that taking her freedom away was the best way to deal with this situation.

The minutes drag on, an hour takes a decade to pass… But eventually the sun sets and the moon rises. Sleeping brings her a little relief.

Tonight, she sits on the edge of her bed and stares at the floor, where the necklace she took off last night lies. Sometimes her eyes dart to the window, but she refuses to let the temptation of looking outside take hold of her again so soon. She cannot be distracted; she has a decision to make… Should she meet him again tonight?

No. She won’t allow him another in again. The only reason she should spend any time in his presence is to get the answers she seeks, and since he said he wouldn’t give them to her… She doesn’t have to see him.

Even if deep down she knows she wants to.

But what does it matter that she cares for him? He is a monster. She could never be with someone like him. She will not entertain her heart’s foolishness any longer.

Caroline ignores the fact that these thoughts feel too much like lies as she stands up to get the enchanted necklace.

She forces her hand to wrap around the metal chain. However, the moment she closes the clasp around her neck, she hears an ear-piercing sound that has her heart nearly stopping in her fright. Instinctively, she looks outside the window.

The wolf from last night is still there. Howling so loudly to compete against the song of the wind.

She watches it, transfixed. It seems desperate, eager. _Angry_. The full moon shines outside, and she can’t help but wonder if this is like the stories of werewolves, where the moon gives them strength.

Caroline shivers and trembles from the cold that comes through the window. Her thin nightgown does nothing to protect her from the chilly night, but she can’t make herself stop looking at the animal. Last night she thought there was something different about it, but now she is certain of it.

It’s as if the wolf is… _aware_.

It walks around the magical barrier, tracing it. She feels each of its steps like the beating of her heart.

The beast looks up at her. Caroline stares right back at it. She grips onto the fabric of her nightgown to hide the trembling of her hands as she raises her chin.

It howls again.

She thinks the very world may be trembling with that sound. Her breath is caught in her throat as she waits to see what it will do. Fear spreads inside of her, even with her brain trying to remind her that it can do her no harm outside.

Of course, the minute she thinks that, the universe with its wicked sense of humour strikes again.

The wolf takes another step, but not around the barrier. It steps through it.

Caroline gasps. It couldn’t be. It couldn’t come inside. It shouldn’t.

But it doesn’t seem to care about what it should or shouldn’t be doing as it keeps on taking sure steps towards the tower. She keeps on staring at the beast, moving closer to the window.

She grips onto the window stool as she leans forward to see it better. It’s heading towards the door, as if it knows what it’s doing. It looks up at her one more time, like it wants to know if she’s still looking.

And of course she is. How could she not?

She doesn’t understand what is happening, she doesn’t understand how it could be happening.

Caroline stares petrified as it growls to the massive wooden door. Her heart is hammering in her chest as she sees the animal charging against it. She can hear the sound of each thump echoing all the way up to her window.

_What is it doing? What does it want?_

She’s nearly falling out the window, desperately trying to see what is happening. But she didn’t need her eyes to know what that last, decisive sound meant.

The wolf is inside the tower.

She runs out of her chambers towards the spiral stairs. Her bedroom is on the very last floor, and she can look all the way down to the first. She holds onto the handrail as she waits, hoping that the scene she watched unfold outside wasn’t but a delusion played by her mind.

Of course, she has no such luck.

The golden-brown wolf steps into her line of vision. It looks up… It always seems to sense her presence. Almost as if it is looking for her. Its gaze is hungry, as if the one of a starved man.

She stares at the beast, her mind desperately trying to come up with a solution for her current situation. If the beast came in, is there any way she can go outside? Can she run out of this place?

But what if it follows her? She could never outrun a wolf.

The animal doesn’t seem keen on allowing her any time to think this through, though. It heads towards the stairs with sure steps, and when it reaches them… No, she would never be able to outrun that creature.

The furniture in her room is too heavy. She can’t move it to barricade the door. God, what should she do?

Impetuously, she starts running, too. There is a small passage that leads to a second set of stairs, which was supposed to be used by the servants she doesn’t have.

She sprints down the stairs, hoping the wolf will keep to main path up to her room. She goes down two steps at a time, trying to think about where she should go, where she could hide.

Caroline can hear it moving, its powerful steps, its growls.

Can it hear her too? Does it know where she’s going?

The stairs lead her to the kitchen. Second floor. The wolf should already be in her room… Should she risk going for the door? Should she risk exposing herself to go down one last flight of stairs?

What if she does so and the spell still keeps her inside? What will she do then?

The beast howls desperately again as it realizes that she isn’t where it thought she should be… She won’t have the time to make it to the door. She can already hear it moving.

There is a large cupboard in the pantry… Without taking much time to think on her decision, Caroline runs towards it. The animal is fast approaching, she can sense it. She has no other option but to close that thin wooden door and hope for the best.

Her breathing is ragged, but she tries her best to calm it down. Quiet. She needs to be quiet.

She sits down, brings her knees to her chest, wrapping her arms around her legs and burying her face in them. She needs to muffle the sobs she can feel fighting to make their way past the knot in her throat.

Is this how this will end? Months of loneliness and desperation and suffering… And this will be how it ends? Killed by a famished beast.

Mommy, daddy… You promised she would be safe! You promised you were doing this for her sake. And she let you! She trusted you! Why did you abandon her? Why did you do this to her? She knows she wasn’t the daughter you wanted, but she tried _so hard_. And now… How long will it even take you to realize that she is gone?

God, she doesn’t want to die. There’s so much she wants to do! There is a whole world out there waiting for her… Klaus once told her this. It isn’t fair she won’t see any of it.

Dying in a cage… This isn’t what she wanted for herself.

The tears come when she hears its steps just outside. She closes her eyes, waiting for the deafening sound of the wood coming apart, of the splinters hitting her, piercing her skin right before the wolf’s claws and teeth do.

She can hear it sniffing around the cupboard; its low growl sounds pleased.

At least it’ll stop, right? At least this will soon be over. There will be no more pain, no more suffering for her. She will be free of all of this. And in a way, she is almost happy. Relieved.

Her nails are digging into her calves, every muscle in her body is almost painfully contracted. Her heart is ringing so loud in her ears she almost doesn’t hear anything else… It takes her a few moments to register the sounds from outside.

Loud crackings, as if bones are breaking, accompanied by soft grunts of pain.

The anguishing noises seem to go on for what seems to be hours, though she is sure only a few minutes have passed when the door of the cupboard is finally opened.

Only… It isn’t broken by the strength of a beast. It is gently opened by its door handle.

And, oh, curiosity has always been her downfall. She can’t stop herself from opening her eyes and slowly looking up, peeking through her lashes to see what horror she might find.

Her gaze meets human, familiar blue eyes. And you would think that would bring her some relief, wouldn’t you? But the thing is, there is still a hungry monster staring at her.

The Hybrid is standing there, offering her a wicked smile.

“Hello, love.”


	3. II

He watches carefully as she goes through a rush of emotions.

Her face is always so beautifully expressive, and he can see the hesitancy turn to confusion turn to surprise... But fear lingers through it all. Its scent is familiar, but unwelcome when it’s coming from her.

Oh, there is no need to be scared, sweet one. Not of him. He can promise you this much.

It is with much more pleasure that he takes her embarrassment, the redness of her cheeks when her gaze leaves his and travels south, only to snap back to his face as soon as she registers his nakedness.

He smirks.

“My apologies, sweetheart. I did not mean to frighten you. It was simply easier to go through the spell in my animal form. I can assure you you are quite safe with me.”

Klaus offers her his hand.

He can see her reluctance, can see how guarded she is. It doesn’t matter. He will soon have her in his arms, offering him one of her sunshine smiles. Just like things used to be in their dreams.

Slowly, as if debating with herself whether she should or not accept this silent offer she doesn’t quite understand, she reaches out. Her hand is trembling as she places it on top of his palm. Her skin is so cold.

He hears her gasp softly at that chaste contact. How long has it been since she was last touched? How his Caroline must have suffered, all alone in this empty tower. He will make them pay for it.

It makes that need inside of him grow. The need to keep her close, to keep her safe.

_ Mine. Mine. Mine. Mine. _

He pulls her up, using a bit more strength that necessary so that her body collides against his. And that moment he breathes her in… Oh, he has dreamed of this moment for so long, sweetheart. And now he can have you close, he can touch you.

Klaus leans in, brushing his nose against her hairline. Her breathing is quickened, he has no doubt she flushes beautifully for him the second his hand come to rest on her waist, pulling her closer.

“It’s okay, sweet one. Everything will be alright,” he promises her soothingly.

She’s shaking, the poor thing. Don’t fear him, love. He means you no harm.

Caroline relaxes minutely against him, reacting to instincts she doesn’t know she has. But her body is still quivering, and he realizes that it might not be just because of her fright.

“Come,” he urges her quietly, pulling back, though he keeps on gripping her hand. “You must be freezing.”

It is indeed so cold in this place. What dreadful months these must have been for her. For the girl who told him she loved the sun and wanted to travel the world.

She follows him with hesitant steps, looking over at him every few seconds, as if not believing he’s truly there. She stays quiet the entire time as they go up the stairs to her room.

He recalls the relief he felt when he saw her standing by that window. When he saw his beautiful Caroline again. He will not let go of her ever again.

After five flight of stairs, they finally reach the top of the tower. She’s still trembling.

Klaus urges her inside, pulling her towards one of the armchairs that face the fireplace. She sits down without arguing, allowing him to wrap a blanket around her shoulders as she tucks her feet underneath her legs. She watches him with wide, curious eyes as he fusses over her. God, don’t you understand, sweetheart? He  _ needs _ to make sure you are okay.

He walks away for a moment to tend to the fire, giving her some time to gather her thoughts. Caroline is never shy about voicing her opinion, and he is certain she’ll have no shortage of words to tell him — or yell at him — as soon as the initial shock is over.

He isn’t at all surprised that, when he turns back to face her, she has straightened her spine and raised her chin.

“There should be clothes for you in the wardrobe,” she tells him. A polite order.

Oh, love. You know one doesn’t give a man like him orders… But for you? Is there anything he wouldn’t do?

He can’t quite read the emotion in her voice and it bothers him. He doesn’t allow it to show on his face, opting for raising his brows at her. A silent reminder that there is no need for such properness.  _ Don’t you remember the dreams, Caroline? Don’t you remember the things we’ve done? _

But her eyes are unflinching, even if she can’t quite help the blush that spreads down her neck. He follows her command, if only so it’ll make her more comfortable around him.

The magic of this place indeed provides, and soon he’s dressed in a fine pair of black pants and a white shirt. She remains sitting the whole time, her gaze fixed on the burning wood.

He can see her shoulders tense as he walks towards her again. Her eyes are wary when they meet his.

But she’s there, right in front of him. He’ll make sure she understands everything. He’ll make her happy. Nothing else matters in this moment.

Slowly, he kneels in front of her. Can you see it, sweetheart? Can you understand? Do you think he would ever bow to anyone? Can you see that nothing but the strength of his devotion for you would make him bend?

No, he doesn’t suppose you understand. In time, you will.

Klaus takes both her hands in his, never taking his eyes off hers. He takes great pleasure in the way her breath catches the moment he brings her right hand to meet his lips. The way she quivers when he does the same to her left.

And this feeling he gets whenever their skins brush… Nothing in the dream world could ever compare. She’s here. His sweet Caroline. Here. With him.

“This is all I could think about. For the past seven months, Caroline, all I could think about was seeing you again. Touching you. I didn’t stop looking for you… Not a single day. And now I have you by my side once more.”

She stays quiet for a few moments, taking in his words. Months. It’s been months since she’s carried a conversation.

“They hid me from you,” she says, her voice too quiet. “Why?”

Anger builds quickly inside of him at this reminder. Too quickly. He doesn’t manage to hold it back before his eyes are shining yellow. Caroline gasps, pulling her hands away from his.

He shuts his eyelids.  _ No. Don’t scare her further. Control yourself. _

“What are you?” she asks, sounding half horrified, half curious.

“You know what they call me,” he tells her softly. His eyes are back to normal, so he stares into hers unflinchingly.

She considers his words for a moment. “You’re a hybrid. Half human, half… Wolf? You are a werewolf, then?”

He laughs. “No. Werewolves can only turn at full moon and they lose themselves when they do so. I can turn at will and keep my consciousness when in animal form. There a few other perks to my condition, as well. My senses have been enhanced. And I’m stronger, faster.”

_ Lethal _ , he doesn’t need to add. She will hear it anyway.

“So all the things you’ve done… It was just you.”

It’s not a question, but he nods anyway. “I’ve never denied it.”

“And you’ve come after me… You’ve been  _ hunting _ me... Are you going to kill me?”

Her voice is firm, perhaps even cold as she says this. And it hurts him to know how little worth she’s putting on her life right now.

“Do you think that low of me?”

A pause. It hurts him that she has to consider it, but not as much as the conclusion she reaches.

“Yes.”

He looks at her. Sweetheart, please— you must understand. He’s a monster, he knows that. But he would never harm you in any way. He will take good care of you. He will make you happy.

“If there is one thing that I can promise you, Caroline, is that I will never hurt you.”

And the way she looks at him — Caroline, love, he can see just how much you want to believe him. He can see the hope in your eyes. Give him a chance.

“And I’m just supposed to trust you?” she asks with such disbelief in her voice. She laughs, a bitter and tired sound. “What will you do, then? What do you want from me?”

“I just want you.”

Klaus smiles at her sharp intake of breath. At the way her lips open and close twice, as she desperately tries to find something to say, though she comes from this search empty-handed.

Slowly, temptively, he grabs her hands again. She allows him to tenderly caress her skin with his thumb, to trace there idle circles. 

“Tomorrow,” he continues, “I want you and I to leave this wretched place. I want us to get far away from this cold tower. Do you remember what I once promised you in your dreams, sweetheart? I said that I would show you the world. Well, I want to fulfill my end of that deal.”

He watches as his words sink in, watches her eyes begin to water.

Caroline grabs onto his wrists so tightly as she begins to move forward, slipping down the armchair until she’s kneeling down on the ground with him, staring right into his eyes. The way she looks at him… So desperate, so hopeful.

“I can leave?”

Her voice is a broken plea. She’s trembling.

“Yes,” he answers her promptly, gently freeing his arm from her grip so that he can reach out and cup her cheek. “Yes, sweetheart. You’re free.”

Quickly, probably so that she doesn’t give herself the time to think this through, she throws herself at him, burying her head on the crook of his neck while her hands grip onto his shoulders. Klaus wraps his arms around her, holding her tight.

She doesn’t cry, but she clings to him like her life depends on it. He caresses her hair, runs his hand up and down her spine to sooth her worries.

Oh, Caroline, you will be okay. You will fly away from this barren land. This cage will no longer hold you down. You are free now.

Spread your wings, little bird.

 

* * *

 

She hates how safe she feels with his arms wrapped around her.

She hates how easy it is to believe in him, to trust him. She hates how much she wants him to be telling her the truth. She hates him and she hates herself.

But, God— if what he’s saying is true, then she will be able to walk away from this place. Never again she will have to stare at those walls. Her feet won’t have to touch that gelid floor.

She wants something new. She wants something daring.

She needs to leave this place.

Klaus convinces her to stay just this one more night in here. He says she needs to rest, for they will have a long day tomorrow. She should get some sleep before they go on their way.

He presses a kiss to her hairline before he stands up and offers her his hand so that she can join him. She hesitantly accepts his help.

If he will get her out of this place… She’ll deal with the rest later. She just needs to leave.

She can’t trust him. He’s proud to be a monster, he doesn’t regret the things he’s done. But her memories of him are so soft. So happy. How many layers does he have? Does she know him at all?

Caroline keeps her eyes on him as she goes to bed. He sits on the armchair she had occupied moments ago. A small concession, as if saying that he won’t be joining her that night, despite their history.

But those were dreams and this is the real world.

Besides, back then she didn’t know, and now she does. She doesn’t want him anywhere near her bed.

Her thoughts feel like a lie, but she ignores it.

She closes her eyes, knowing that she should indeed try to get some rest… But between the fright the wolf inside the tower caused her and having him so close, she can’t just relax and let her mind drift.

Caroline is sure he knows that she isn’t actually asleep, but he doesn’t say anything.

He just sits there,  _ guarding _ her. She doesn’t know if he’s there to keep any danger away or just to prevent her from escaping.

She wonders if she isn’t just trading one cage for another.

 

* * *

 

The sun rises, illuminating her room with shades of orange and yellow.

Her heart is beating so fast in her chest. It’s rhythm creates a song in her ear, the lyrics are the thoughts she cannot get out of her mind.  _ Free, free, free, free. _

Goodbye, chipped painted of the walls. Goodbye, 157 steps of the stairs. Goodbye, insipid and tormented life.

_ Free _ .

She sits up on the bed, swings her legs so that they’re dangling from the edge of it. Today, she doesn’t wince when her bare feet touch the cold floor. She doesn’t mind the shiver that goes through her.

She doesn’t even mind Klaus’s attentive eyes already watching her every move.

Caroline looks at him, almost daring him to shatter her happiness, to ruin this for her. But he offers her a gentle, understanding smile as he stands up. She straightens her spine, thinking that he will walk towards her. He stays in his place, likely sensing how guarded she is.

“Good morning, sweetheart,” he says softly.

“When do we leave?” she asks impatiently, not bothering to stick to polite formalities.

His lips twitch with amusement. She scoffs.

“In an hour. Get dressed and pack anything you want to bring with you, but pack light. We have a long journey ahead of us, and we can acquire new things for you when we get to where we’re going. I’ll be waiting downstairs in the kitchen.”

She nods, unable to fight down the smile that spreads across her face so easily. He returns it temptatively, probably unsure about what it means. She doesn’t explain it to him. She doesn’t owe him that and, even if she did, she doesn’t think she could put into words this feeling that’s been growing inside her chest.

Happiness. How long has it been since she’s truly been happy?

He walks away to give her some privacy.

She presses her hand to her mouth to muffle the laughter that wants to escape from her lips, but she can’t stop herself from twirling like she is listening to the most wonderful song. Her nightgown flows around her, and, for the first time since she’s got here, she looks outside the window and feels hopeful. She welcomes the cold, cold wind today.

Caroline runs to her wardrobe, needing to figure out what she’s supposed to wear.

There are many gowns, but he said they’d have a long journey ahead, so she figures she needs something more comfortable. She ends up choosing a pair of black pants and a white tunic, ignoring how scandalized her mother certainly would be if she were to see her wearing those clothes.

She picks a dark long coat with silver buttons, too, knowing that she will need it to fight the dreadful weather. And after putting on her boots, she’s ready to go downstairs.

Stopping by the door, she looks back at this room one more time. She doesn’t plan to climb up the stairs all the way back here again. And there is nothing she wants to take from here. No memento to remind her of this part of her life.

She briefly wonders if she should leave a sign, a note telling them what happened if they ever came looking for her… But she decides not to. They abandoned her, so she will abandon them too.

Caroline closes the doors behind her. Relief runs through her the moment she hears that final clicking sound.

 

* * *

 

Breakfast went by fast, though not fast enough.

She could not keep still. Her hands trembled and her feet kept kicking the air. Klaus looked at her amusedly when she began to tap her nails against the polished wood of the table, and she was so focused on thinking about leaving this place that she even apologized. She later admonished herself. He doesn’t deserve an apology from her.

But it doesn’t matter. Nothing else matters. 

Because now she is standing by the remains of the front door, watching Klaus step outside. She wants to laugh because he makes it look so easy — and it is supposed to be easy. But how many times has she tried to opening that door? How many hours has she spent kicking it and begging it to just open up for her?

Now all there is left of it are pieces of broken wood. There are claw marks all over it.

But the beast that tore it apart now looks like a human man, and he’s staring at her expectantly. He stays quiet, letting her take her time.

The truth is she is scared. Scared that she allowed herself to have hope and that it will be for nothing. That she won’t be able to go outside.

Her heart rings loud in her ears. Klaus smiles at her encouragingly. She closes her eyes, praying to whoever is listening that this works out, and takes a step forward.

Caroline gasps when she realizes that it’s worked. That she’s now standing outside the tower.

209 days. 209 days inside. But now she’s free.

She covers her mouth with her hand to muffle a watery laugh. Half-sobbing, half-chuckling, she turns around just to make sure that place is behind and not around her. She steps back, wanting to put even more distance between her and that place.

Grass— there is grass underneath her feet.

She begins laughing. She must sound like a crazy woman, but she does not care. God,  _ she’s outside _ .

“H-How?” she asks, turning to look at him.

He’s way closer than she thought he’d be. It startles her, though she tries to stand her ground. He reaches out to touch her cheek and she lets him, even lets herself enjoy the way his thumb caresses her skin, how he dries a stubborn tear that refused to be held back in her eyes.

“There are always loopholes when it comes to magic. The spell they used to lock you up here was a good one, I’ll admit. But it is never a flawless work. It was significantly less impressive when it came to keeping animals away, I could feel it would be easier to get in that away. I still had to wait for the full moon, though, so that I was strong enough to break the spell. And once someone walked in… The spell was nullified. It was likely designed that way to keep you safe. So that you could escape if anyone went in.”

His smile is wicked.

_ Little did they know… _

Klaus chuckles. “Surely you must have known, sweetheart, that if I ever found you again, I would not let you go a second time. I said so before.”

A warning — she will not escape him a second time.

And this is supposed to be scary and she knows still needs to get her answers to fully understands what he means. She needs to know why he wants her, why he is so desperate to keep her by his side. But… She just wants to have this one moment. This one moment where she can be happy and enjoy the fact that she’s no longer trapped in that place. She won’t overthink his words for now.

So, ignoring him, she just steps away from him and shakes her head before looking up at the sky.

She laughs again, feeling better than she has in a long, long time.

“Where are we going?”

“To a cabin I own in the woods,” he replies. Probably the first direct and non-cryptic answer he’s given her. “It’s quiet there. Then we can decide what we’ll do next.”

_ We? _ , she wants to ask, but instead just nods.

She isn’t used to talking. She isn’t used to having him close. This is new and frightening, but she’d be lying if she said she isn’t excited too. That the thought of having him near her forever isn’t one that a dark part of her — one that she does her best to keep buried — enjoys.

Caroline stares back at that tower one more time. She didn’t think something like a happy goodbye existed, but this seems to be the occasion here. There is no dread, no sadness in her chest when she think she’ll never see it again.

She’s startled when she feels him touching her hair. She tries to turn around but he grips her shoulder with one hand as the other gathers all of her hair on one side of her neck.

His fingers are warm as they touch her neck. She can help the shiver that runs down her spine. His touches feel so different in the real world. She wishes she could not enjoy them.

Slowly, he traces the metal chain that has kept him away. She closes her eyes as she realizes what he wants to do. She does not stop him from opening the clasp and taking the necklace in his hand.

He throws it on the ground by her feet carelessly.

“You won’t need it anymore,” he breathes again her ear. Another warning, but a promise, as well.

This time he allows her to turn slightly to look at him. His lips are too close and she is not strong enough to keep her eyes from wandering there. To keep her mind from imagining how much better they must taste in real life.

He smiles victoriously at that.

She forces herself to step back. He’s a monster. She can’t have these thoughts about a monster.

Caroline shakes her head, ignoring that little voice in her head that seems to whisper the truth of her heart and keeps saying that she is happy that Klaus is beside her. She just begins walking forward, each step freeing her from the shackles of that place.

She does not look back.

 

* * *

 

They go through the woods mostly quietly.

Klaus knows she is not yet comfortable around him and he knows that he needs to give her some space, to allow her to see for herself that he is truly no threat to her. That he could never be so.

He can’t stop staring at her, though. Can’t stop being marvelled at the fact that she is by his side.

She notices it, of course. Her back stiffens every time he looks at her a second too long, every time she catches his gaze and sees the hunger in it. Oh, love, he can’t help it. He  _ is _ famished.

Besides, she wears her expressions so beautifully on her face. She looks around with such wonder in her eyes; she smiles at the birds that sing for them. He can almost see her inner-self jumping up and down with excitement.

It makes him lose a breath he didn’t know he was holding to see how pleased she is.

That creature inside him that was roaring and clawing inside his chest ever since she was taken from him begins to calm down. Knowing that she is safe, knowing that in this moment she is feeling happy… He needs it.

Klaus knows it won’t last. He knows she still has too many questions to ask and he has too many answers she will not like. Perhaps she will indeed hate him. But in this very moment… God, her smile is enough to light up some dark, forgotten place inside his chest.

They walk slowly. A bit too slowly for his taste, since he would like to get her as far away from that place as possible, but she has been stuck inside a tower for months, and he knows she will tire more easily.

She doesn’t complain not even once, of course. She is proud and she would see it as presenting a proof of her weakness to him.

Nonsense. He’s quite aware of how strong she is, his Caroline. He knows she’s stubborn and determined and ruthless.

She doesn’t thank him for any of the times he suggests they stop, or for the water and food he hands her from the bag he packed. Her eyes are wary, assessing him. Like he might attack at any moment. Oh, sweetheart, wouldn’t that be lovely?

He has thought about it, you know. Sinking his teeth in your pretty neck. Drinking from you,  _ claiming _ you… Your life would taste so sweet in his tongue. But it would be bitter, too. Losing you— he can’t afford that.

“We will spend the night here,” Klaus warns her when they reach a clearing. The sun is beginning to set and it’ll soon be too dark for her human eyes, too cold for her sensitive skin.

Caroline nods, though she tenses. “Is it safe out here?”

“I’m the most dangerous creature in these woods,,” he says, the words giving him no short amount of satisfaction. “No one will dare bother us.”

She rolls her eyes, but doesn’t say anything.

There is such fire in her soul. Even now, scared and wary as she is, she will not back down. A roll of the eyes, a huff, a snort… Such a defiant, little thing.

He enjoys it all too much. It’ll make it all the more satisfying once she gives herself to him.

He begins to set their small camp, gathering wood for a fire and placing the blankets he had brought from her tower on the ground. He curses himself for not being able to give her the comfort she deserves tonight, but starting tomorrow she will have anything her heart desires. Nothing she asks him could be too much.

She doesn’t complain as she sits down on the thick layer of fur. She simply brings her legs up to her chest and hugs them as she watches him work.

Caroline doesn’t wince when he finally takes a place at her side.

“Are you hungry?” he asks. “There is still some food in the bag, but I could hunt if you’d like something fresh.”

“Hunt  _ animals _ ?” she questions, her tone of voice somewhere between curious and accusing.

Klaus smiles coldly. “Is there a difference?”

She stares at him, horrified. He can almost see it in her eyes, the need to run away. The need to put as much distance between herself and that  _ monster _ . He chuckles, reaching to grip her chin.

“Tell me, love, what would you do if I said humans? Would you be disgusted by me?”

Again, that fire—

Caroline grabs his wrists, yanking it away. “I already am.”

“And yet, you haven’t once complained about being with me,” he points out, a smirk on his face.

“I want answers,” she says simply. “You  _ owe me  _ answers.”

Owe you? Does someone like him owes anyone anything? No, not really, sweetheart. And he’s certain you know that. But yet, you feel so comfortable demanding things from him. You’re scared, he knows, but deep down you understand, don’t you? Deep down you know you want to be with him and you know that you can trust him.

That you can give yourself to him.

He nods, conceding her this. “I know I haven’t been very forthcoming with my answers in the past, and I do apologize, Caroline. But you must understand— If anyone had found out… Look what they did to you. They would’ve locked you up there much earlier. I couldn’t have that.”

He isn’t lying, but she still stares at him unimpressed.

“Well, but now I’m out of that tower and we’ve met once more. You told me that you would explain everything to me. So do it.”

Another order. So bold for such frail little human.

“What do you want to know?”

Such a dangerous question. And yet he can’t help offering her this. Somehow, she earned his respect and — even if there is a voice screaming at him, telling how weak he’s being — he knows that she deserves the answers she seeks.

She stares at him with wide eyes, her heart beating fast in her chest. That’s it, sweet one. This is your chance.

“Everything,” she breathes.

He’s moving without even noticing, some sort of force pulling him towards her. His hand lands on her cheek. She doesn’t so much as wince. 

“That concept is a bit too broad for us to work with, don’t you think? How about… How about we play a game?”

Caroline frowns. “A– a game?”

Klaus nods, his thumb idly tracing her cheekbone. She leans in to his touch, in spite of herself. He smiles. “Yes. An answer for an answer. I have questions of my own, you see.”

“I haven’t been keeping secrets,” she says coldly. And yet she does not pull away.

“Just because you haven’t been purposefully keeping them, it doesn’t mean that there aren’t secrets about you that I have yet to unfold.”

Don’t you understand, Caroline? He is an addict. He wants to devour you whole, he wants to know every little thing there is to know about you. Every last detail. He wants to drink in every piece of information, to sink his teeth and claim everything you are.

You’re his, sweet one. 

“Do you agree to my terms?” he presses.

She squeezes her eyes at him. Cautious, always so cautious… He chooses to focus on this beautiful anger in her gaze that he’s itching to put into paper. 

“Yes. But you will give me actual, complete answers. No half-truths, no omission. Do you understand?”

He wants to smile. She knows she is in no position to make any threats, but there she is— giving him orders like the queen she was born to be. And the  _ or else  _ promise that lingers in the air is thrilling. He’d like to see her vicious little mind at work, see what punishments his lovely Caroline could come up with.

“I promise you I will answer you truthly and completely… Provided you do the same, of course.”

“Deal,” she agrees. “I’ll go first, if you don’t mind. What exactly are you?”

He isn’t given the time to mind it before the question is asked, of course. He drops his hand from her face as he considers her question. She asked him the same thing yesterday in the tower, but clearly she isn’t satisfied with the answer he gave her.

“I used to be human. A long… A  _ very _ long time ago. I was cursed by a powerful witch to become who I am today. As I said, I am not a werewolf. But my father was one, and I would’ve become like him if I had been given the chance. The witch’s magic took that into consideration, which is why I can turn into a wolf when I want to.”

Her eyes were glued to his; she is soaking in every word.

“Wait,” she interrupts. “You said you were cursed, but… Yesterday you told me you were stronger, faster… What exactly was the curse?”

He looks down for a second. “That is technically a second question,” he points out. She stays quiet, just looking at him, unbothered. He sighs. “She cursed me to be alone. To watch everyone I cared for leave me. To become the monster she thought me to be.” A pause. “And, to answer your first question, as far as I know, there is no one else like me. There is no name for what I am, except for Hybrid.”

She stays silent for a few moments, probably not knowing what to say. Klaus risks looking at her again, only to see if there’s any signs of pity in her eyes. He finds none.

Caroline seems to feel uncomfortable under his gaze, shifting a little.

“It’s your turn to ask me a question,” she prompts.

He keeps his eyes locked on hers, wanting to see her reaction. “Do you hate them for what they did to you?”

Her eyes widen, as if she didn’t expect him to ask her that. She takes a moment to answer, but he knows it has more to do with not wanting to admit the truth than with having to think about how she truly feels.

“Yes,” she says at last, her voice a whisper.

“I would make them pay, if you wanted me to,” he offers her casually, not bothering to hide the pleasure he feels at the thought. He would very much enjoy making them suffer.

He watches her carefully, not knowing how she will feel about his offer. He waits for her eyes to become wary again, waits for her to tense.

But instead she laughs — perhaps not the free, careless laugh she has offered him in the past, there is a darkness to it. Like she might enjoy the idea of them being hurt as well.

Something inside his chest stirs at the sound, and at the thought of her taking her revenge.

“I’ll think about it,” she says, a smile still playing at her lips though there’s a shadow cast over her face.

She shakes it off as she remembers that it’s her turn to ask him something. And he knows what she will ask before the words even leave her mouth — “Why me? Why did you show up in my dreams? Why… Why do you want me?”

He stares at the grass, his fingers closing around some of it before he pulls it absentmindedly. He’s thought so many times of this moment, when he’d finally tell her the truth. He had to wait for her to be close, though. He had to wait for her to be within his grasp… So she wouldn’t have a chance to escape.

“You are having some trouble sticking to the one question rule, aren’t you? Luckily for you, these all have the same answer,” he stalls for a moment, trying to decide what was the best way to say what he has to tell her.

“Do you remember what I told you when we left the tower?” he continues. “There are always loopholes when it comes to magic. The curse from that witch made me strong, powerful… It had to find a way to make me weak, too. What do you know about mates, Caroline?”

She frowns. “You mean like in the stories? A soulmate?”

“In a way, yes. The concept isn’t quite as romantic, though, I’m afraid. The magic of my curse chose someone who I’d have… a connection with. A connection that can’t be broken. It was that connection that allowed us to meet through our dreams. And when I saw you, Caroline… I just knew who you were, what you meant. And I wanted you— I needed you.”

Klaus allows her a moment to assimilate what he’s telling her, but he can’t stop the words he has to tell her now that he’s started.

“Do you understand what this is like for me? Everyone, everywhere in this and in other realms… They fear me. I am powerful and respected. Do you understand what it means that I cannot live without you? That you— having you safe, having you happy… That’s all that could possibly matter. Do you understand the price that I would demand from the world if anything were to happen to you?” He laughs, shaking his head. “I don’t suppose you do. But you will soon.”

She is quiet. Very, very quiet for moments that take too long to pass. But she doesn’t avoid his gaze, her eyes don’t fill with water and her voice does not tremble when she says — “I never wanted any of this.”

“I know,” he says. And he understands, sweetheart, he truly does. “But you are my mate.  _ You are mine _ . Nothing and no one can change this. And you see, Caroline, this isn’t without benefits to you.”

She scoffs, her voice growing colder. “You are telling me that I am shackled to a monster. What good could possibly come from it?”

Her words are biting and she means to hurt him, he knows. But he can only smile at the fact that she is so easily accepting this.

Can you feel it, too, love? Can you feel that pull towards him? Can you feel how your heart works differently when he’s around; how his touches have the power to make it race or calm it down? Do you have that same tight feeling in your chest, do you feel it spreading through your veins, that need that is begging you to keep him close?

“No one will ever come close to hurting you. You will be safe, I’ll make sure of it. There are very few things I couldn’t offer you, sweetheart… I can and will be true to every promise I made you. I’ll show you every last corner of the world.”

_ I’ll lay it down at your feet and offer it to you.  _

“And what of the stories I’ve heard? I know what you are. I know the things you’ve done. How can you expect me to believe that being… being  _ yours _ is a good thing?”

“Were you not happy?” he asks, his voice serious. “Were you not happy in our time together? This is my question to you.”

She hesitates. She knows he’s telling the truth, she knows she can’t deny this.

“Those were just dreams.”

He shakes his head. “No, they weren’t. And that doesn’t answer my question.”

Caroline looks away. Her voice is very distant and small when she admits—

“Yes, I was.”

He doesn’t smile, doesn’t take it as a victory. But he grabs her hand and squeezes it. A quiet reassuring, a silent promise that he will make her happy.

And Klaus knows she doesn’t yet trust him, but he will prove it to her.

 

* * *

 

Klaus stays awake while she sleeps.

She looks peaceful, her face lit by orange light of the fire. Her eyelids flutter like she’s dreaming. She’s wrapped both in his and her coat, the fur of the blanket shielding her from the cold forest floor.

She didn’t want to play their game any longer after her last answer, and he could understand her need for silence. So that she could think this through. Besides, she had barely gotten any sleep last night, so he knows she must be very tired.

And he could use the time to think, too. To plan his next move when it came to her.

Caroline is still so scared of him. So afraid of the stories she’s heard. Perhaps she’s starting to believe that he truly would never harm her, but he knows they still have a long way to come before she trusts him.

He is a monster. He has never denied that, he has never promised to change. He doesn’t think he can.

But he wonders if there’s anything he can do, some gesture, some proposition… Something that will make her see that he might not ever be a good person, but that he will be good to her.

Dawn breaks far too soon, before he has the time to figure it out. 

He gently wakes her up, nudging her shoulder. She blinks at him a few times, looking confused for a few seconds before everything comes back to her. She slowly sits up, rubbing her face with her hands before attempting to comb her hair with her fingers.

She blushes a little under his gaze. He wants to tell her that she looks beautiful.

“Hungry?” he asks, instead.

Caroline nods, letting out a long yawn as he searches for some bread and cheese inside the bag. “Sorry,” she says sheepishly, offering him a small smile. He shakes his head as he hands her the food. “Don’t you eat?”

“You truly are interested in my feeding habits, aren’t you?” he jokes, thinking of last night. “Yes, I do eat. But, while I can still have it, I simply don’t require human food to survive.

“Does that mean you require humans  _ to be food  _ to survive?”

He sighs. “Again with the second questions. I trust you would respect our deal, love.”

“And you’re stalling, so that means I won’t like your answer, but I need you to tell me either way.”

She stares at him unflinchingly. He knows she won’t wield, and well, if he insists on the technicalities of their deal, all he can do is buy him a few moments before she inevitably asks him this again and he is forced to answer her.

“Human blood,” he says bluntly. “It was part of the curse. To crave it, to feel hungry for it at all moments. It took me a while to learn to control the thirst.”

Her eyes widen. Her hands stay frozen for a few moments, holding a piece of cheese halfway towards her mouth. “That sounds… awful. And gross. The witch who cursed you must truly hate you.”

“She did,” he agrees, his voice a bit distant as he thinks of the part of the information he was withholding. He promised her he wouldn’t omit anything… “The witch was my mother.”

There’s a long, loudly silent pause.

“What?”

Klaus stands up. “I’ve offered you enough answers for now. We should get going. There are still a few hours of journey until we get to my cabin.”

She seems to notice the resolve in his voice, because for once she does not argue. She finishes eating while he gets everything ready for them to resume their walking.

They spend hours without saying a word, except for his occasional offers of food or some time to rest. She looks at him like she is trying so hard to understand him, but doesn’t know what to make of the things he tells her.

At least there is no pity in her eyes.

But he can feel her curious gaze piercing holes in his skin, desperately trying to figure out what is his true nature. Oh, love, you will have to understand— he isn’t some tormented soul you can fix. He is what he is. There is no changing that.

He is the man who showed up in your dreams and promised you in the world. And he is the beast who tore at people’s throat when he was hungry or bored. You should accept this, sweetheart.

You are stuck with both.


	4. III

It’s late in the afternoon when they finally reach his cabin.

It’s not much, he’ll admit to that. It doesn’t offer the riches of his other houses. It’s not opulent or particularly beautiful. But it’s quiet and comfortable and in the morning the sunlight comes through the windows and some of his best works were painted bathed in it.

He finds himself searching her eyes, finds himself caring too much about her opinion.

She’s smiling at the wood cottage, and then turning to smile at him— just for a second, just before she catches herself and forces herself to stop. Something eases inside his chest, anyway.

“Come,” he urges, “it’ll be warm inside.”

The fireplace is already lit, waiting for them. Some witch once enchanted this place for him. To keep it hidden from everyone else, mostly, but also for these small amenities. The place isn't big; just a small sitting room in a shared space with the kitchen, a single bedroom and a bathroom.

The furniture is simple and clearly worn, but everything is in a good state. It almost looks like a place someone’s lived in, much different from that tower, which seemed to be frozen in time.

He closes the door behind them and drops the bag he was carrying on the ground. He still watches her reaction carefully.

The corner of her lips are still curled in a small smile, but she stays silent. He still lets go of a breath in relief, taking the softening in her eyes as an approval.

Klaus helps her remove her coat and hangs it by the door before doing the same with his. She hesitantly waits for him, clearly unsure of what to do or how to act in here. He thinks this might not be what she expected to find in a place he owned.

“My instruments of torture stay in my other residencies, I’m afraid,” he says lightly as he watches her eyes scan the room.

She looks at him, likely trying to figure if he is or isn’t joking about the torture, but decides to just shake her head and chuckle. “Pity.”

He just stares at her for a few moments. Did she just joke with him?

“We have time to explore it all, don’t you worry… And do feel at home, Caroline. I know this isn’t much, but anything that I can offer you is yours for the taking. We’ll just stay here for a few days before I take you somewhere better.”

Caroline nods, moving further into the room. She gives it all a good look, her eyes linger a bit too long on the open door that leads to bedroom, but she chooses to sit on his sofa, allowing her muscles to relax after two long days of exercising.

He joins her.

She rests her head against the top of the sofa and closes her eyes. “I can’t believe this is happening,” she mutters quietly.

Klaus doesn’t know if she’s talking about being out of the tower or being here, with him, under these conditions. Maybe it’s both.

“I always believed we would be here,” he says. “Perhaps not literally _here_ , but I always knew I would have you by my side.”

She turns her head towards him to look into his eyes. She looks tired and lost and... hopeful. He knows that she wants to believe him, that she craves having someone that will want her this much. But she is so scared. Is it of him? Is it of not knowing what will happen?

She ignores what he said, in favor of changing the subject. “It’s your turn to ask me a question.”

He blinks, considering it for a moment. What answer does he want to get from her lovely lips?

“What are you most afraid of?” he asks suddenly. He needs to know just how frightened she is of him. He needs to know what to do to fix it.

Caroline hesitates and his heart sinks in his chest.

Funny. Until he met her, he used to think he no longer had one.

“I don’t know,” she replies after awhile.

He shakes his head. “That’s not a good enough of answer. What is it? I won’t judge you, sweetheart… What could it be? Heights? Spiders? Death?”

Klaus stops himself from asking _‘me?’_.

She stares up at the ceiling again, considering his suggestions for a long time that he doesn’t mind offering her.

“I’ve never really minded heights. I like watching things from above, it makes everything seem small. It puts things in perspective.”

He wonders from what height she would have to look at their situation to think about it differently.

“Spiders, then?” he prompts, if only to keep her talking.

She shakes her head. “I don’t love them, but they are definitely not the thing I am most afraid of.”

“Death?”

Silence.

Too many seconds run by with him staring at her and her avoiding his gaze. She almost seems like she is not there at all.

Her voice is too quiet when she finds it again. “I’m not afraid of dying.”

Oh, Caroline, sweetheart—

Please don’t say these words to him. Please don’t try to mask this helplessness with bravery. He understands it all too well, you see. He knows that by saying you don’t fear death, you mean that you don’t mind it either.

All those lonely days in that empty tower had you making peace with it.

But, love, listen… There’s so much out there worth living for. He could show you.  Will you let him?

Please say yes.

He wants to say— there is so much he wants to tell her. None of it seems like enough.

Klaus finds himself kneeling in front of her again. Her eyes are filled with tears as she watches him place his head on her lap. She seems to understand what this gesture means, what he’s trying so desperately to tell her.

She moves slowly. Perhaps feeling a bit confused. But she places her hand on to of his head and begins caressing his hair.

“Nothing bad will ever happen to you,” he vows. “I promise you, Caroline.”

She nods as if she believes him. Her touch feels holy. Is this was absolution feels like?

“What does it mean for me, being your mate?” she asks him, probably trying to break that moment. It’s likely more than she can handle from him right now.

He pulls back so that he can look at her. Her hand slips from the back of his head to his cheek, and he turns slightly just so he can press a kiss to her palm. He can feel her tremble.

“It means that you are mine, as I am yours. It means that you will crave my touch, that being close will make you feel calmer, more grounded… Which means that spending too long apart isn’t good for either of us. We’ll grow anxious, testy… Some talk about feeling physical pain.”

“We spent months apart and I didn’t feel any of this,” she counters.

He offers her a small smile. “The bond has yet to be snapped in place. You can feel it, can’t you? This faint connection between us. Just a few threads linking us. It’s too weak yet, but... It’s supposed to grow stronger the more we spend together… And after I claim you.”

He isn’t sure this is the best moment to say this, but he did promise her the whole truth.

And when she blushes vividly for him, he rather enjoys it.

“Then why don’t you just let me go? We don’t have to suffer through any of it. We can just stay apart and the bond will never grow stronger and—”

His acid laugh cuts her. “Do you believe I have not considered it? That I have not thought about just ignoring this? I can’t, Caroline. Tell me… You have every reason to hate me. To despise me. But you don’t want me away, do you? You enjoy it when I touch you, you want me to be close. Tell me I’m lying.”

She doesn’t say anything. Her soft hand pressing against his cheek is enough proof of this anyway.

“And if I’m not close… If I’m not keeping you safe… I already told you this, Caroline. I don’t know what I would do if anything happened to you.”

Too weak, too broken, too distant — “All right, then.”

He takes her hand in his and presses kisses to her knuckles, to the tip of her fingers, to her palm. She just stares at him for a long time. There is so much going on in her eyes, such a fast, confusing rush of emotions.

It’s okay, sweet one. He understands. He truly does.

“I’m tired,” she says at last. She said the same thing the last time they met in their dreams.

“I know.” He stands up, still holding her hand. He urges her up by tugging at it. “Come on, love. Tonight I can give you a proper bed to sleep in.”

She rises as he requests, but she tenses too. “Will you… I mean—“

“You can have the bedroom all to yourself,” he assures her.

Caroline offers him a small, thankful smile before she excuses herself. He watches as she walks away and shuts the door behind her with a low _click_.

He spends the night listening in to make sure that everything’s okay and planning the painful deaths of everyone who ever made her feel small.

 

* * *

 

She wakes up to a silent cabin.

But the bed it’s so warm and comfortable, it takes her awhile to get up and investigate why exactly everything is so quiet. And once she does, she’s very surprised to learn that Klaus is nowhere to be found.

She looks out of the windows, trying to see if she can find him waiting outside, but he truly seems to be gone.

Her heart begins to beat faster. And she knows… She knows the feelings that goes through her is fear and not relief.

Caroline tries to calm down. _Breathe_. In and out. In and out. In and out.

_Look._

There is a note on top of the small wooden table against the wall. She doesn’t know if anything can be considered running when you are trying to close a three steps distance, but if it can, then that is what she does.

Her trembling hands grab his letter almost desperately, her fingers clinging to the paper like she was clinging to life itself.

_‘Good morning, Caroline._

_I had to leave to run some errands. I will soon be back, don’t you worry. There is still a piece of bread and some cheese if you are hungry, and there is also tea in the kitchen._

_I wouldn’t advise you trying to leave._

_Yours, Klaus.’_

I wouldn’t advise you trying to leave?

In and out. In and out. In and out.

What does he mean by that? Does he… Is he trying to say she _can’t_ leave? Has he locked her in here? Oh, God. Is she trapped again?

In and out. In and out. In and out.

He said she was free. She is supposed to be free. No, no, no, no– Not this again. She can’t– Please. She can’t– She can’t do this.

In-out-in-out-in-out-in-out-in-out-in-out-in-out-in—

Caroline is by the door in a second. She feels like she might throw up and her hands are shaking so hard as she reaches for the handle and…

And it opens. The door is open. She isn’t trapped.

_God—_

She raises her arm and reaches out, just to make sure there is truly nothing stopping her. Her fingers meet no resistance. Neither do her feet when they dare take a step outside. And another. And another.

It’s a rare sunny morning, but it’s still so cold. She looks down at her body. She’s still wearing the same clothes from when she left the tower. They are not enough to fight off the chilly wind.

She looks back inside the cabin over her shoulder. She would just need to take one step in so that she could reach for her coat. And then she could be outside again within a single second.

But the wooden walls seem to mock her. She feels like they will close in on her if she gets back inside.

Caroline shakes her head. _Never again._

She ignores the shivers and pretends that are hands are trembling just because of her nerves. She grits her teeth so they won’t chatter.

Her feet are touching the grass. She isn’t even wearing shoes.

The fact makes her laugh as she begins walking.

Caroline briefly wonders if she should ignore his advice and just run away… But in her state she’d likely freeze and, besides… Where would she even go? Certainly not home.

And the thought of leaving him… She shudders.

_Her mate._

She scoffs.

She’s read many books about the concept. Both studies about the lives of werewolves and about curses, and fantasy novels in which the heroine was destined to fall in love with someone.

It’s strange to think that this is happening to her. That she is mated to the Hybrid.

There is a part of her, the part of her that is still clinging to the Klaus she knew,  that feels happy that he is her mate. Happy to have the man of her dreams — in this case, quite literally — by her side and to know that there is where he will stay.

But she isn’t mated to the man who promised her the world. She is mated to a monster.

Ever since she was a little girl she’s heard stories about him. Those were the stories that would keep her awake at night as a child. The ones that made her tremble. They talked about the beast who lurked in the shadows, who ate people whole — not caring if they were children or elderly or sick.

A hungry beast with a thirst for blood that could never be sated.

Now she knows just how true those stories were. Now that she knows that he needs to drink human blood to survive.

She shivers, and not just because of the cold.

She is trying to wrap her mind over everything he told her. Does the fact that his mother was one the curse him change anything? That a mother hated her son so much she decided to turn him into a monster?

No, she doesn’t think so.

His choices were his own. He’s always made that very clear.

Klaus doesn’t deny any of his crimes. He doesn’t even pretend to feel sorry for them.

And yet he claims that she is safe with him. That he would never do anything to harm her… That he would always keep her safe.

And the problem is… She doesn’t think he is lying to her.

You may think her silly for trusting such an awful person. And perhaps she is being a fool. But she can’t— She can’t accept that it was all a lie. Everything. Every night they spent together, every touch, every caress, every promise.

She knows that he must care for her. In a dark, twisted way, maybe. But he does care.

And, God, she wishes she could say she didn’t feel the same. She wishes she could say that being with him doesn’t make her heart warm, that she doesn’t want to melt into his embrace all the time.

She is so scared. So confused, stuck between her brain and her heart and their endless battle over him.

To fight off the cold, she begins walking. She wraps hugs herself, running her hands up and down her arms in search for some warmth.

Her feet keep carrying her, and she just pays enough attention to make sure that the cabin is still in sight, but otherwise doesn’t control their movement. She goes forward, and backwards, and sideways…

God— it feels so good to be free. To have the sky above her, and dirt beneath her feet. She barely registers the numbness on the tip of her fingers and nose.

She doesn’t notice the seconds passing, doesn’t count the minutes as they run by. She only focuses on breathing that fresh air and taking in everything, every single detail.

She circles the house, looks at the wood and the shades of brown and black that composes it. There is a well at the back of it. Her fingers trace the gray stones, she looks down at it, at the pit of darkness with some water shining at the bottom. If only she had a coin, she could make a wish.

She is lost in these thoughts, considering a possible wish when she starts hearing his calls.

“Caroline!” he yells with anger and desperation and she can hear his fast and heavy steps.

 _Oh_. He thinks she’s gone.

“I’m here,” she responds hurriedly. Her voice is quiet — she’s still so unused to using it — but he seems to hear it anyway.

Klaus immediately goes to her. Even from a distance, she can see the relief in his eyes. She doesn’t stop him when he pulls her to him, holding her so tightly.

She has no doubt he would have hunted her down if she had tried to escape.

And yet she can’t help but lean into him, into his warmth. She only realizes how cold she truly was now that he’s fighting off some of it.

He presses his lips to her hairline before pulling back a little. He’s frowning at her.

“What are you doing out here? You’re freezing.”

He’s rubbing her arms, trying to offer her more warmth. And he stares at her so worriedly it almost makes her want to laugh. Almost. Because, instead she feels embarrassed. And if it weren’t so cold, her cheeks would’ve turned red.

Caroline doesn’t know how to explain it to him.

“I just… I needed to be outside for a bit,” she says shyly. It’s the best she can manage to do.

Klaus seems to understand as he reaches to cup her cheek. She immediately leans into his touch. Both because of the cold and because of the comfort he offers her. Stupid mate bond and all. He nods, pressing his lips together for a moment as he takes a second to think.

“And do you think you are ready to go back inside now?”

She considers it. The panic she felt seems to be gone, her breath isn’t stolen when she thinks of walking into the cabin. And now that she knows she isn’t trapped… It doesn’t seem so scary now that she isn’t alone. And she hates herself for feeling more comfortable when he is around.

He waits patiently for her answer. A part of her wonders what he will do if she says she isn’t ready. She can’t help but think that he’ll get her coat and shoes for her and sit with her outside for as long as she needs him to. And, no matter how hard she fights it, the warm feeling that takes hold of her heart is enough to fight off the cold.

“Yes.”

Klaus smiles brightly at her. He begins to talk about what they’ll have for lunch and something about the new clothes he’s found her. She pretends to be listening, but all she can think of is the feel of his hand pressed against her lower back as they walk.

She can’t help but enjoy it.

 

* * *

 

He is fussing over her again, he knows.

He’s made her sit by the fireplace and draped a blanket over her before he went to the kitchen to heat up some tea, promptly thrusting a cup of it into her hands moments later. She took it with a thankful nod and drank greedily.

And now she’s staring at him, her eyes both curious and amused.

He doesn’t find the idea of her freezing to death funny, but he’s reluctant to say so. He doesn’t think picking up a fight will do him any good now.

“You said we would only be staying here for a few days,” she says after a while, likely needing to break that awkward silence. He knows she’s never dealt well with it. “Where… Where will you be taking me?”

Klaus knows she’s scared of what his answer will be. He knows she’s scared he will say Nekrotheke.

And he does want to take her to his home. To what will be _their_ home, he is sure. But he knows she’s not yet ready for it. Not when her eyes are still so hollow and today he came back to her freezing outside because she could not fathom the idea of staying inside.

“I promised you I would show you the world, didn’t I?” he reminds her. “Pick somewhere. I’ll take you. Wherever you want to go.”

And that spark that is ignited in her eyes, those flames he can see burning behind them. He knows that those lonely months have not broken her, not truly. She’s still the woman he met in his dreams. Eager and curious and passionate about the world.

“I’d like to go somewhere warm. And beautiful. And… And far away from here,” she tells him hesitantly.

Klaus considers her words for a moment. He knows just the place.

“Sooraj?” he suggests.

The city-state lies in a different continent to the East. It’s known for its almost unbearably hot weather and its permanent bright blue skies. Quite the opposite from the realm she’s been confined to all her life.

Caroline’s eyes widen with an excitement she cannot contain. A smile stretches across her lips. “Would that be okay?”

Oh, he can already imagine the places he’ll take her, the food he’ll have her taste. He can already picture how stunning she will look in their colorful silk dresses, and the sun making her golden hair shine.

“Of course,” he assures her.

And that look on her face, the way she forgets herself and grins at him so widely, so freely… He wants that. For the rest of his life, he wants to have that all to himself.

“Thank you,” she says so sincerely, seeming so happy… And he knows he will do whatever it takes to keep her that way.

She keeps her eyes on him as she sips a bit more from the cup of tea in her hands. He doesn’t dare break that staring match. He has dreamed of moments like this. The simple, uneventful seconds where she would just be by his side. And now he has her.

They still have a long way to go, he knows. She’s still too hesitant, too unsure. He can understand her suspicion, of course. But he will show her that it is entirely unnecessary. She can trust him.

“You don’t have to thank me, sweetheart. It’s a pleasure, I assure you, being the one to take you there. Besides, my reasons are entirely selfish.”

She arches her brows at him, wary, but mostly curious. “What is that supposed to mean?”

His lips twitch. He was hoping for her to ask him this. “Are you trying to restart our game of questions and answers? If so, if I recall correctly, you still owe me an answer from last night.”

Klaus says it casually and pretends not to notice how she tenses. _What are you most afraid of?,_ his question lingers in the air for a few moments.

Caroline looks away. “Oh.”

Gently, grabs her chin, urging her to meet his gaze. “Is it being locked up again? Is this why you were outside?” he asks her kindly.

Her heart is beating so fast. He can hear its desperation… He can see the blush that spreads across her cheeks and down her neck.

Oh, love, you don’t ever have to be embarrassed in front of him. He will never judge you, never belittle you for any of it. He simply wants to know so that he can help you. He would do anything to help you.

“Because I will never allow that to happen again,” he vows when she stays silent. “You are free, sweet one. No one will ever put you in a cage again.”

“Not even you?” she blurts out, her eyes defiant.

Ah, there it is.

Klaus takes a moment to answer her question. He will be honest— he must be honest with her, he thinks as he traces her lips with his thumb. The hitching in her breath is distracting, but he must focus. Such a dangerous question she asks him. So many ways to phrase his answer wrongly and scare her away.

“I have no desire to do so,” he says at last. “I want you, Caroline. I have never hidden that. And I want you by my side— I would even like you _to choose_ to stay by my side. But now that I have you by my side? I’ll admit that I find myself unwilling to let you go. Is that what scares you? To think that I will be a different sort of prison? I can understand that. I can understand you being afraid of me. You’ve heard so many stories, haven’t you? And to find out that you belong to the monster that your mother would warn you about… That must be terrifying.”

She doesn’t deny it. He finds his smile turning bitter.

He continues anyway. “However, I do believe that I am the only man who is willing to give you the life you always wanted. You must be thinking that I am a horrible person for not having given you a choice, for taking you with me and just assuming that is where you should stay. But what choice would you have been given at home? Would you not have been imprisoned to the house of the man they would have chosen for you? I don’t claim to be fair. But I do not believe that being my side is the worst fate you could have. You _will_ be free, you _will_ travel the whole world if you so wish. My one condition is that I go with you.”

Caroline straightens her spine. Every inch the proud queen she is. She does not find an argument to contradict him; she knows that he speaks the truth. Being with him might be the best — if not the only — way she will get to make her dreams come true.

“Not once did you promise me that you would never lock me up in a tower somewhere, though.”

Of course, her pretty little mind would never be willingly to overlook that small detail. Is it strange that he feels proud?

“I promised I would never lie to you,” he says and immediately raises his hand, requesting her to be silent because he can already see her lips parting in a protest. “I meant what I said. I have no desire of trapping you anywhere. Would I ever do it? If it became necessary to ensure your safety, then yes.”

Her voice is cold when she interrupts him, “That is exactly what my parents thought they were doing. Locking me up so that I would be safe.”

“I would never abandon you. You would never spend months alone and forgotten. I would never allow that to happen, Caroline.”

She stares at him for long moments. “What if I didn’t want it? What if I’d rather die than being locked up again?”

Klaus feels a dreadful feeling take place inside of him, spreading down his spine. He can’t stop his eyes from shining yellow.

His voice is very low when he says, “Don’t say that. Don’t ever say that. Do you understand?”

Her eyes widen and she blinks at him a few times, surprised by his reaction to her words. She stays silent for far too long, so he asks again, this time a little louder, “Do you understand me?”

“Yes,” she responds automatically, watching him with a wary gaze.

He forces his eyes to return to normal as he nods. “Good.”

His smile is wicked and a little cruel and he knows it, but he can’t stop himself. He’s angry. So angry at himself for letting her be taken away. At her parents, for having done this to her. And… He’s furious at her. For even considering death a solution.

He leans in, not bothering to respect her personal space. He doesn’t stop even as she tenses.

“You know, when I first realized who you were, when I knew for certain that I had found my mate… I considered building you a room in my palace. A beautiful room, of course. Fitting for a beautiful woman. I thought of keeping you there. Safe. And with me, always. You wouldn’t be lonely, of course. I’d make sure to visit you every day. To spend some quality time with my lovely mate.”

Caroline stares at him. Her eyes are filled with disgust, and perhaps a little hint of fear.

She doesn’t say anything before she moves to stand up, to move away from him, but he grabs her arm to stop her.

He rather enjoys her gasp as at that contact. Even if her shirt is still serving as a thin barrier between their skins, his touch is enough to electrify them both. It is enough to make her stand still.

It gives him the time to say, “As you may have noticed, love, I’ve chosen a different approach.”

She scoffs.

“Well, you better stick to it.”  There is an iceness in her voice, a menacing tone that he can’t help but respect.

He almost wonders if she’ll bare her teeth at him. Wouldn’t that be glorious?

Klaus lets go of her arm and pulls back. “I have every intention to do so.”

She stares into his eyes for a few moments, gauging his sincerity. He allows her some long moments to come to her decision, and she finally nods, satisfied with what she finds.

But the moment that battle is won, she loses her regal aura and rests her back against the sofa, melting into it.

Caroline sighs. She looks like the tired girl he found in that tower, looks like the girl he found standing outside in the cold.

He feels a rush of guilt go through him and tries his best to ignore it.

“I’m scared,” she says. “Of what will happen… And of you.”

He feels a strange kind of relief to hear her say that. If she’s willing to admit so to his face, it means that she must trust, at least a little, that he won’t exploit her weaknesses.

“I suppose that is to be expected.”

He doesn’t tell her that she shouldn’t be scared of him. Perhaps it’s smart of her to be so. He is selfish enough that he has no plans to let her go, no matter what.

She chuckles bitterly, shaking her head. “This isn’t how I thought my life would go.”

Klaus smiles. “I know. And I also know that you dislike surprises and anything spontaneous.” She doesn’t react to his teasing. “But _you_ know that you could be happy by my side, if you’d let yourself.”

“You are a monster!”

“That I am. And I was already a monster every time I held you in your dreams, every time I touched you.” He smirks, moving closer to her once more. “Tell me you do not miss me. Tell me you do not want my hands on your skin, that you don’t want me to make you scream my name.”

Her heartbeat starts racing. Her beautiful blue eyes disappear to give place to that lustful darkness.

“Can you do that for me?” he asks in a semi-whisper as he reaches out to touch her cheek. “Can you tell me you do not want me?”

He leans in so that his lips are nearly brushing against her ear. “Can you say that you have not thought about touching me ever since I found you in that cupboard?”

Her cheek is so warm underneath his fingertips. Her blood is rushing through her veins, he can hear it. Such a tempting little thing.

“ _Klaus_ ,” she breathes in a warning he ignores.

His nose is nuzzling her temple, he takes a few moments to just breathe her in before his lips are touching her skin.

First her cheek… She gasps prettily for him during that first brush of lip-to-skin. Then he moves to her jaw, and her fingers find their way to his hair. And then he goes all the way down her neck…. It would be so easy to sink his teeth there. She even tilts her head to give him better access, bless her soul.

He licks up the hollow of her throat, his stubble scratching her skin lightly as he does so.

Caroline is panting for him. He can smell the beginning of her arousal, can’t resist the temptation of resting one of his hands on her thighs.

Everything he is… Everything they are seems to be boiling, trembling with an energy they cannot contain.

And yet he must.

It’s not easy reminding himself to stop, but eventually he pulls back, placing one last kiss to her cheek.

“Think about it,” he says. Her eyes are closed and her hands are gripping the sofa as if otherwise she would slip from it. “Think about everything that I can offer you. Every pleasure, every sin. Everything you ever dreamed of.”

He caresses her cheek with his thumb tenderly, so differently from his touches from moments ago.

“All you have to do is say yes.”

 

* * *

 

It takes him three days to make the arrangements for their trip.

Every morning when she wakes up, he isn’t there. He says he goes to a nearby village where he knows someone who will take care of everything they need. He apologizes for not taking her, but apparently he can move much faster with his abilities and make it there in an hour, instead of the half-day walk it would be at her pace.

Caroline doesn’t really mind.

She’s scared to be close to him. And, with each hour that passes, that fear has much less to do with the worry that he might hurt her than it has to do with how she cannot seem to control herself when he is around her.

That day… He had said so many awful things to her. She should’ve hated him for having ever considered keeping her locked up like an animal, like a possession of his. And yet only seconds later she was melting with his touches, wanting _more_.

So, no. She does not mind that he apparently is confident enough that she wouldn’t try to escape to leave her alone for hours every day.

Besides, she is familiar with the solitude. With the quiet. And at least here she can sit outside, with no suffocating walls around her, as she writes lists and makes plans for their trip.

It helps calm her down, planning.

Everything about being with Klaus seems unpredictable and… permanent. It unnerves her. So she focus on the details she can control.

She writes down the things she wants to do in Sooraj. The places she wants to visit, the foods she wants to try… Perhaps it is a bit silly, and she feels rather stupid when he comes home to find her working on those plans.

But Klaus… She never knows how he will react to things. And when he sits by her side on the front porch and takes the list from her hands…

She blushes and her hearts begins racing. Both because of he’ll be seeing this ridiculous thing she’s been working on and because he is sitting too close to her.

“I– This is nothing. I was just bored, and–”

She doesn’t know what to expect, doesn’t know if he’ll make fun of her… But then he is asking, “Can I have the pen, please?”

Caroline blinks at him a few times before she complies with his request.

“You forgot to add a visit to the Yellow Lake,” he says, beginning to write it down at the bottom of the list. “An unforgettable place, really. I am sure you’ll love it there. It isn’t actually yellow, but it’s surrounded by trees that are always filled with yellow flowers… In the autumn, the flowers cover the entire lake… It’s breathtaking.”

She forgot how much she loved to hear him talk about the places he’s visited. In their dreams, they used to sit side by side and he would tell her the stories of his adventures throughout the world.

It always made her eager to go with him in one of his trips.

And now it is finally happening… And a part of her is so, so happy about it. Is happy that she can see in his eyes that he wants to sit by her side and plan this with him, like they said they would so many times in their shared nights.

But the other part of her can only focus on the red stains in the collar of his shirt. On the fact that he went to that village not only to make the arrangements for their trip, but also to feed.

And she can’t– She can’t allow herself to stay there. Can’t allow herself to pretend that this is okay.

“I’m sure it must be lovely,” she says, her voice cold.

She stands up, leaving him there.

She will not allow herself to fall in love with a monster.


	5. IV

No one ever told her that ships were this boring.

At first, she was excited to be there. To finally be leaving her cold realm and heading towards new adventures.

That excitement managed to last for a whole of three days.

Now she is growing quite impatient. And, while seeing the ocean for the first time was great, having nothing but water surrounding her for days is not something she finds herself enjoying. Besides, there is not much to do.

Klaus and her are sharing a cabin — though thankfully they have separate beds — and every morning when she wakes up, he’s no longer there. Probably trying to offer her some privacy so that she can change into fresh clothes… Clothes that he bought her. She’s still not sure how she feels about that.

At the very least, he has a wonderful taste. Her dresses are beautiful, but simple and very, very comfortable. No tight corsets stealing her breath or heavy skirts hindering her movements. And she can tell that they are made with the finest fabrics you could find in their land and that they were made by very talented seamstresses. And she’s got enough of them for him to have spent a small fortune on her clothes alone.

And that is not to mention the shoes and jewelry and the books that are in the chest by the edge of her bed. And, of course, there is the matter of the trip itself.

She wonders if he thinks that she will be bought so easily. That he will earn her affections by giving her pretty things.

She huffs, thinking this is completely ridiculous. But, well, at least she’s walking out of it with many beautiful new possessions.

And yet, there is a smile constantly threatening to makes its way to her lips.

Not because of the gifts. But because of how hard he is trying… And because of how clueless he seems to be about this.

Caroline didn’t realize it during the courtship that took place in their dreams. Perhaps because back then she didn’t even believe he truly existed and had been a lot less unguarded. She made him work, of course, but it was different. Like a game they were playing. A game he excelled at.

But here — for the first time — he seems to be out of his depth.

Not like the shy, blushing boys that would come to her and not be able to utter a word in her presence. But like he has no idea how to care for her the way he claims he does. Like he doesn’t know how to show it.

Klaus seems stuck between wanting to give her some space and fearing that she will push him away.

So he’ll leave her alone after they eat breakfast together, but it’s unlikely she’ll have the time to read more than five chapters of the book she is reading before he is showing up at her side again.

To check up on her. To make sure she isn’t hungry or thirsty or needing anything.

“Humans,” he sneers. “You are too fragile.”

And she rolls her eyes and stubbornly tells him he’s wrong, but she does appreciate what he’s doing.

It’s hard to fight off the warmth that spreads in her chest.

At sea, she has way too much time on her hands, and that means she can overthink everything. And if she’s thinking it through, suddenly it’s not a rushed decision to trust him and to let him take her away. Suddenly she can’t pretend she doesn’t know exactly what she’s doing.

She can’t pretend she isn’t doing exactly what her heart wants her to do.

 

* * *

 

“I’m telling you. This ship is cursed, mother” says the man sitting on the table beside her.

The woman, sitting across from him, scoffs. “There is no such thing as curses, Frederic. Too much time at sea is making your brain rot.”

“Oh, then how you explain all that is happening? Hm? Lady Cassandra was found dead in her chambers just last night! That makes them three! Three people dying in two weeks? That can’t normal.”

“Terrible coincidences! The captain assures us that they were ill, it’s very unfortunate.”

She tries her best to drawn out their words and focus on the food in her plate.

Caroline knows what is happening, of course. Caroline knows that there are no coincidences or illnesses or curses behind those deaths. There is simply a beast on the loose on this ship.

Her stomach begins turning on its own and she closes her eyes for a second.

She is holding the cutlery a little too tight, and her entire body feels awfully cold, though she knows that in a second it’ll be boiling with rage.

“My dear! You look so pale! Are you feeling alright?” the woman from the next table asks her.

Caroline opens her eyes, blinking at her a few times. “I– Yes, I’m okay. Don’t worry about me.”

She tries to offer her a smile, but it’s a weak, frail thing at her lips.

“See what you’re doing to the poor girl, Frederic? Talking about death during lunchtime! I swear I taught him better manners than that… And you have nothing to worry about, dear! You are a healthy young girl, nothing bad will happen to you.”

Oh, she knows nothing will happen to her.

That much she is sure she can trust him. He will not harm her.

“Y-yes,” Frederic muttered, his eyes now glued to her face. “You are very beautiful. I mean, healthy. You seem to be in excellent health, miss…?”

“Caroline,” she offers him, unable to stop herself from grinning at him. He is handsome, she supposes. Dark hair, dark skin, dark eyes… And what kind, warm eyes he has. So much different from Klaus’s calculating blue ones.

His mother lets out a very unlady-like snort. “He thinks he’s subtle, my son. But I suppose… It is past the time he finds himself a bride.”

“I’m afraid Lady Caroline has already found herself a husband.”

She almosts chokes on the food she hasn’t been able to force herself to eat. Of course… Of course Klaus would choose to join them _now_.

She closes her eyes, hoping this is some sort of dream… But he is sitting across from her with a huge smile on his lips when she opens them.

“My apologies for taking so long, sweetheart. But I’m happy to see you’ve made such charming friends.”

Frederic keeps his eyes on his plate while his mother laughs.

“It’s not a problem,” Caroline says, though she knows he can see the fury in her eyes as she stares at him. “We were just discussing the sudden deaths on the ship. It’s so strange, don’t you think?” she asks him pointedly.

The corner of his lips twitch.

“Ah, this is indeed terrible. Tragedies, if you ask me.” And with the way he says it, you’d almost believe that he means it. “Still… This is hardly the appropriate subject for lunch, wouldn’t you agree?”

“Ah!” exclaimed the woman. “I just said the exact same thing! And your wife, poor thing, seemed so troubled… I was just telling her that she has nothing to worry about.”

Klaus smiles. “Oh, I would never allow anything to happen to her.”

She hates the blush that she is certain is on her cheeks.

She cannot have this kind of reaction to him or his words. Not when just moments ago they were discussing the people he _murdered_.

Caroline keeps her eyes locked on his. She can’t seem to look away.

She feels that urge — that very insistent, annoying urge — to reach for him. To feel his skin against hers even if just for a single second. She knows she will feel relief once she does so. She knows that roaring inside of her will calm down.

He must feel it too. She knows he must.

And yet he doesn’t move either… A choice he offers her. No– a challenge. His lips are curved in a small smile, but she can imagine them moving to form the words, _I’ll control myself if you will._

“If you’ll allow me to say… Well, It’s refreshing to see a young couple so in love with each other.”

Caroline breaks that staring match to look at Frederic’s mother. Her heart is beating too fast in her chest.

In love? She once thought she was. She once thought he was everything she could ever want, but it was never real. No, they are not in love. They could never be in love. She doubts he even knows how.

“Thank you,” she says anyway, trying to sound as sincere as possible.

The woman and her son soon excuse themselves. An awkward silence falls in the room.

Klaus stares at her strangely for the rest of the meal.

 

* * *

 

A part of him hates her.

A part of him hates himself for not being able to hate her.

What a weak little fool he is becoming. Perhaps Mikael was right, after all. He was a pathetic man, destined to always be alone.

Klaus never minded the solitude.

At first because being alone meant that his father wasn’t beating him up within an inch of his life. Because it meant that everything would be quiet. It meant that he could sit with his back resting against a tree and work on his paintings.

And after everything happened… Being alone felt good. Being alone meant not caring, meant not suffering. Mean never having to feel weak again.

But now this girl dares come into his life, dares give him her love, her devotion for months… And then take it back.

Of course he knows — of course he understands it, rationally.

But that doesn’t stop his wolf from clawing at his chest from within. From wanting to roar at her for having looked so disappointed when that woman said that they were in love. He could taste the lie in her words when she thanked the woman for it.

Oh, Caroline. It is true. There is no love he could offer you, he has long forgotten how to do it.

But you, with your open heart and your careless tendency of loving so much, so freely… Will you deny him that? Will you not offer him your loyalty?

Would you rather that pathetic Frederic was the person you were shackled with? He saw the way that peasant’s eyes looked at you. Could read his disgusting, filthy thoughts… That man wanted to touch what belonged to _him._

Every time he thinks about it, his gums begin to ache. Not with the thirst he’s grown familiar with, no. That was sated last night.

But with a rage he has never learned to control.

He is a terribly selfish man. He does not share what is his.

Klaus is barely aware of what he is doing, just trusting his senses to find that man’s scent.

She won’t even look at him because of the deaths. What did she expect would happen? That she would change him? That he would be tamed by her soft hands and sunshine smiles?

Sorry to disappoint, love.

A dark smile spreads across his lips as his steps come to a halt.

It seems like Frederic is all alone in his cabin. What a shame it would be to leave him all by himself tonight.

Klaus doesn’t bother knocking.

What good are polite formalities to a soon-to-be corpse?

 

* * *

 

“You killed him.”

He is just standing there, watching the horizon as if he doesn’t have a single worry in his life.

And when he turns to look at her, he has the nerve to offer her a smile. “Hello, sweetheart. It’s a lovely morning, isn’t it?”

She curls her hands into fists. She wonders if he’d still look so smug if she pushed him off the ship. She’s curious to know how well wolves can swim, you see.

“You killed him last night. And then you came back to our room like nothing had happened, and slept on the bed next to mine as if you hadn’t just murdered yet another person!”

Klaus only arches his brows at her.

“Do keep your voice down, love. It would be so troublesome if people started to believe there was a murderer on the loose.”

“Well, there is!” she says, though in a yelled-whisper… Only because it would indeed be terrible if people realized that he was the murderer. She winces as she thinks of the bloodbath that could lead to.

He turns to face her fully, resting his back against the taffrail. The amusement in his eyes calls out the anger in hers.

“And you only realized it now?”

Caroline takes a few steps in his direction until she’s standing right in front of her. It would be so easy to place her hands on his chest and _push_. And yet somehow, she has the feeling that if she touches him, it’ll only be to pull him closer.

“The others… You were feeding from them. But you killed that woman just last night, and you expect me to believe that you were hungry again? I _know_ it takes four or five days until you need more blood.”

There is nothing cruel or cold in the way he smiles at her now. He almost seems happy.

“You’ve been paying attention.”

“W-What?” she stutters, already flushing. She gathers herself as quickly as possible, but she still sounds a bit breathless and unconvincing and when she says, “Two weeks, three deaths. It’s not hard to do the math.”

And even if she were paying attention and noticing how he became a bit moodier and how his eyes were more likely to have golden sparks in them when he was hungry… It is only natural, isn’t it? To try and understand what she doesn’t know.

Klaus doesn’t seem to care as he reaches out to touch her cheek. He closes his eyes the moment his fingers touch her skin and she… She can’t help but do the same.

She has been limiting their contact as much as she can, but… It just makes her crave it more and more. She thinks she’s going crazy because of it.

And now whatever small brush of skin they share is so _charged_. She feels like they’ve both been hit by a lightning bolt. That their bodies are now stuck together, unable to let go.

It takes every last bit of strength she has to pull back… And today she does not have this will.

This bond between them… It does not seem to care that she is angry at him and scared of him. His touch still helps calm her down.

“Why did you kill him?”

His other hand comes to rest on her waist. To keep her close in case she wants to run away, she knows. She enjoys it anyway.

“Because he wanted you. And you are _mine.”_

Caroline opens her eyes to see his face too close to hers. She is more thrilled than startled.

“He would’ve never done anything. You said you were my husband… He wouldn’t have tried to court me or–”

His eyes turn very, very cold. “It doesn’t matter. Let me make one thing very clear, Caroline. I meant every single thing I said to you back in the cabin. With me, you will have as much freedom as you could possibly have… But that does not change the fact that you belong to me and that your loyalty should lie with me. Don’t forget that. Do you understand?”

She frowns. “My… My loyalty? You expect me to be loyal to you when you are murdering people who so much as look at me?”

He shrugs, tracing her cheekbone with his thumb. “It had more to do with the way you looked at him, I suppose.”

For a moment, all she can do is gap at him. At what he is implying.

And then she’s grabbing his wrists and yanking them away.

“Don’t you dare say that what you did was my fault!”

Klaus chuckles at her. “It was not my intention. I only meant to say that I could not allow him to live. Not when he earned a look from you that is supposed to belong to me.”

“What are you even talking about? All I did was smile at him. Because he was nice!”

“And I suppose that I am not?”

She scoffs. “That should be obvious.”

He stares at her for a long moment. And it’s almost enough to make her wonder if that’s it. If she’s finally said the wrong thing and he’ll bare his teeth at her.

But then his face breaks into a smile and he looks almost boyish for a second. It must be a trick of the light.

“True, I’m not usually nice,” he agrees lightly. “That does not mean I haven’t had my moments, though. Wouldn’t you agree? I freed you from the tower. That was rather nice of me, I believe. I gave you food, shelter. A warm, safe bed to sleep on. Wasn’t that nice?”

She shakes her head. “I think you are mistaking being a slightly decent person to me with actually being nice.”

He nods, humming his agreement. “Yes, I suppose you are right.” But then he’s leaning in and, even though he’s not holding her in her place anymore, she doesn’t think she can move away. “Though, then again… We had some lovely moments before, didn’t we? Wasn’t it nice of me to hold you all through the night after a tiring day? Wasn’t it nice of me to whisper over and over again how beautiful, strong and full of light you are?”

Caroline can’t help but nod. Her voice is shaking when she says, “I suppose.”

He grins at her, before he moves a few inches closer to whisper in her ear. “And wasn’t it nice of me to show you just how good my tongue feels between your thighs? Wasn’t it nice of me when I gave you exactly what you wanted every time? When I made you scream my name? Oh, such lovely times, weren’t they? I was very nice with you, sweetheart.”

“Not always,” she whispers before she realizes what she’s doing.

“Not always. But I think it’s safe to say you rather enjoyed when I didn’t play nice.”

Memories of dreams where he refused to give her what she needed, dragging it on and on, all through the night… There were days she’d wake up frustrated and with her inner-thighs covered in her need for him.

She closes her eyes and presses her hands against his chest. She doesn’t push him away, she doesn’t _want_ him to pull away. But he does so anyway. And it’s a good thing, too, because she can’t think when he is too close.

“None of this means anything. You still killed that boy. You still killed the others. Nothing will change that.”

“No. Nothing will change that. And nothing will change me,” he says. Warns her.

She knows. She has always known he wouldn’t change what he is for her. That he hasn’t been waiting for true love to fix his dark rotten heart.

“But you expect _me_ to change? To accept it?”

Caroline doesn’t think he knows what he expects.

“I expect you to understand that there is nothing you can do. I expect you to eventually get used to it… You will be stuck with me with quite a while, after all. But most importantly, Caroline, I expect you to finally understand who I am.”

She doesn’t meant to, but she begins laughing at that.

“Understand who you are? How can I do that when I don’t know– You still haven’t told me the whole story. You said it was a curse and you said your mother was the one to curse you. But you didn’t really explain anything! I don’t know who you are. I don’t even know _what_ you are!”

And she didn’t even know how much this was bothering her up until now. How much she wants to know him, understand him.

His eyes are locked onto hers. She cannot read them at all, cannot understand the emotions there. But he swallows, staring at her fixedly. She can almost see the wheels turning in his brain, the mental calculations he keeps making… She wonders if he’s calculating how many steps back this might send him.

They remain in a deafening silence for far too long, and then—

“Let’s go somewhere private, then. And I’ll tell you the whole story.”

 

* * *

 

He tells her everything

He tells her about his siblings. _Finn, Elijah, Kol, Rebekah, Henrik._ There is such pain in his voice as he utters their names. He tells her some about their lives, about what it used to be like. He tells her about his mother and how she used to be kind, but how life with her husband made her cruel. He talks about Mikael and the pain he suffered in his hands.

And his face sombers up as he begins explaining to her how stupid he were. How he couldn’t say no to his baby brother, how he took him to see the werewolves turn that night. Little Henrik didn’t stand a chance. His gaze turns hollow as he describes what happened next. What it was like to tell the others. What it was like to face them after what he had done.

He chuckles humorlessly as he tells her that this was how he found out that Mikael wasn’t his real father. That his father had to be a werewolf, since none of the wolves attacked him.

He doesn’t look in her eyes as he says that he had asked them to kill him. That he couldn’t live with the knowledge of what he had done. And his mother just said that he did not deserve to be free of that burden. He tried to run away, then. Tried to leave so that he could find his birth father and live with him.

Mikael did not let him go. And after stopping him, he dragged him back at home where his mother was waiting for him.

It was the night she cursed him.

Klaus tells her about the pain, but he says that what killed him the most was Rebekah screaming for him, begging them to stop. And after the ritual was completed and he became a monster, his sister’s crying changed. No longer trying to save him, but now afraid of him.

He explains the days that followed. The uncontrollable hunger, and the shame and the guilt that came with it. The discovery of his new abilities, of everything he could do— how he mastered those abilities, conquered them so that he could go back and kill his parents.

He does not hide the joy in his voice and eyes as he describes what he did to his mother. And Mikael… Oh, he says he enjoyed that most of all. Watching him scream, watching him cry, watching him die.

None of it, however, saved him from what his curse was truly about. Watching his siblings grow old and build a life he no longer fit in, only to ultimately leave him in the end, in the most definitive way.

Caroline wonders what she should feel and what she should think now that she knows how it all started.

All she knows is that her heart aches for him.

He’s not a sad boy with a tragic past, waiting or wanting to be fixed. She knows that. And this doesn’t change anything. He’s still very much the monster she thought him to be before he told her this story. But she can’t help but reach out for his hand.

He looks at her as if he doesn’t quite understand what is happening, but there is a hint of thankfulness in his eyes.

She feels the strange urge to laugh.

A monster and a Lady both broken by their families, bonded together by forces no one really understands. The universe indeed has a wicked sense of humor.

 

* * *

 

“Can I ask you something?”

They are back at their cabin, both sitting at the edge of his bed. Their fingers are intertwined and it’s very hard to remind herself that she should hate him for everything he did.

It’s a little easier when he says, “That is technically already a question.”

Caroline rolls her eyes at him. She loves that he smiles at her. She hates that she loves that he smiles at her.

“You said you watched your siblings die… And that they died of old age.”

Amusement dances in his eyes. “Yes.”

“But you don’t look much older than me. And you said that your mother cursed you to be alone… And, well, the stories about the Hybrid aren’t exactly recent, are they?”

He raises his eyebrows at her, laughter in his voice as he admonishes her, “Has no one ever taught you that it is not polite to question someone about their age?”

“When have you ever sticked to politeness?” she counters.

He smiles. He enjoys it all too much, she knows. Enjoys the way she never backs away.

“I’m 1,143.”

She scoffs. “I’m serious. You promised you would tell me everything.”

“Caroline,” he says, looking into her eyes. “I am telling you the truth.”

And she just stares at him. Searching for any sign that might tell her that he is joking or lying, but… There isn’t any.

Her eyes widen. “ _Oh_.”

She doesn’t know what to think.

All she can do is compare these two numbers.

 _18_.

 _1,143_.

God, she must seem like a child to him. A child playing childish games with an ancient monster who will grow bored of her soon.

And how is that her first thought?

“Are you alright, love?” he asks her, squeezing her hand as if to offer her some comfort.

No. Of course she isn’t alright. But she nods anyway.

“I– Yes. I think so. This is just a lot to take in.”

And then he is raising her hand with his and his lips are touching her knuckles and— does anything else even matter?

Impulsively, she asks, “Would you show me? What you really look like, I mean.”

She wants it all.

She wants to see it. She wants to know him. She wants not to have to feel scared of the unknown face of the Hybrid.

Klaus looks reluctant, though. “Are you… Are you sure?”

Caroline nods. “I want to see you.”

He analyses her for long seconds, probably trying to figure out if she’s being sincere, and, if she is, then what are the odds that she’ll regret it.

Eventually, he sighs and says softly, “I mean you no harm.”

She still swallows when she sees his features changing.

His eyes become the color of melted gold, there are thin veins showing up underneath them. But the scariest transformation are his teeth, without a doubt. His once charming smile is now a dangerous threat.

His canines are elongated and sharp like knives.

What does it say about her that her first reaction is curiosity and not fear? That she feels enticed by him, by the face of this monster.

Caroline can’t help but reach out to touch his face. His _ancient_ face. His skin still feels soft underneath her fingers.

She needs to feel with her fingertips that this is real. That he is real. So she traces the veins underneath his eyes lightly, and then her fingers are tracing his lips. She isn’t blinking, she isn’t breathing.

“Careful, love,” he warns her with wickedness in his eyes when her fingertips venture too close to his fangs.

She pulls back hurriedly, shaking her head to try and clear her mind. _What was she thinking?_

He killed a man less than 24 hours ago. Just because she had smiled at him freely, like the way Klaus thought should be meant only to him. Monster. He is a thousand years old monster. She needs to keep reminding herself of that.

But his face is human once more and he’s smiling at her somewhat hesitantly.

And this powerful being, this man who has lived for centuries… With her, he softens. With her, he allows himself to be vulnerable — or as vulnerable as someone like him can be.

“Thank you,” she says, and she really means it. “For telling me. And… And for showing me.”

Klaus nods and, tentatively, he reaches out to cup her cheek. She lets him.

“I still hate you,” she warns him.

And they both know it isn’t exactly true because they both know she has never been truly able to hate him. But he nods, anyway, understanding what she means.

“I know.”

None of them pull away.

This touch, just being close to him… It seems to have the power to make all her demons calm down and stay quiet for once.

And by the way he looks at her, she can’t help but think he feels the same.

 

* * *

 

No one ever told her the ships were this scary.

The howling storm outside it’s making it dance dangerously over the waters. She can’t tell what’s louder: the roar of the thunders or the waves hitting the window of their cabin. The yelling of the sailors is almost completely drown out.

She asked Klaus for them to leave a few candles burning.

It’s not rational, she knows. A little light can’t fight off the dangers of a storm. But she feels better if she’s not immersed in darkness. It must be awfully dark at the bottom of the ocean. She can’t stop thinking of that.

Another thunder breaks; she shrieks.

Klaus turns to look at her. She must look pathetic, with her blanket drawn up to her neck and her body all curled up. Her hand is gripping the sheets so tight her fingers are hurting from the effort.

“It’s alright, love. Nothing bad will happen,” he tries to reassure her.

Caroline barely pays any attention to his words, as the ship is rocking again. She thinks she might fall off the bed.

She feels nauseous and her entire body is trembling and she doesn’t know what to do.

The waves crash against the ship once more. She doesn’t know what angry god they offended, but certainly one of them must have done something wrong. There is a deity out there demanding their lives and the air in their lungs, she’s certain of it.

She isn’t even sure if she _chose_ to stand up, but when she realizes it, she’s on her feet, hurriedly taking the two steps that separate her bed from Klaus’s. She does not wait for an invitation before she throws herself at him.

He doesn’t say anything, simply raising his blanket and sheet so that she can join him underneath the covers. She does it as fast as possible, needing to press her body against his, to have him hold her.

There is not much space in the bed and she ends up lying almost on top of him, her head resting on his very bare chest as one of her legs is thrown over his waist. She buries her head on his skin. _God, why does he have to smell so good?_

Klaus wraps his arm around her, pulling her as close as possible. He rests his chin on top of her head, and it’s only when he presses his lips to her hair that she realizes he’s trying not to smile.

“Don’t laugh at me!” she exclaims, indignant.

His voice is filled with the laughter he’s trying to contain. “I would never.”

Another thunder. She yelps.

“Shh,” he soothes her, running his hand up and down her spine. “It’s okay, sweet one. Everything will be alright. I promise you.”

“You can’t be sure,” she says, her words muffled by his skin.

She feels a little calmer, though. His hand resting on her hip is such a wonderful distraction. She blushes a little as she realizes how far up her nightgown has risen. Her thigh is almost completely bare and pressed against his own, though he’s wearing pants.

 _Monster_ , she tries to remind herself. _You should only be worried about his teeth being too close to your neck._

It’s not enough to fight off the relief he offers her.

“It would take a worse storm to sink a ship like this. The sailors are all experienced and know how to deal with this type of situation. And, should I be wrong and the ship indeed sinks… Do you think I would allow anything to happen to you?”

Caroline scoffs, though her heart warms up. “What would you even do?”

“I’d find a way to keep you safe. Don’t you worry. I will always find a way to keep you safe.”

She believes him.

She shouldn’t, should she? She should not be pressed against him. Not when the body count of this trip is now up at seven. Not when she has seen what he truly looks like, when she knows how dangerous he is.

She should not trust that this man would keep her safe no matter what, should not feel steadier with his arms wrapped around her.

But he brings her a sort of comfort, of security, that no one else ever has.

Perhaps because he is so dangerous — so much more dangerous than everything and everyone else… Well, she knows that nothing could touch her. That he would never allow it to happen.

And what a selfish thought.

To crave this so much that she is willing to overlook everything else. Perhaps even worse than overlooking it… Perhaps she’s just willing to accept it.

Can she understand it? Can she understand that desire to hurt the world just because it hurt you first?

Can she understand what centuries on his own might have done to him?

It doesn’t justify anything. But, yes, she understands.

And a part of her can’t help but enjoy that, in spite of everything, he still cares for her. He still tries. That she’s the one chosen to fight off his loneliness.

 _A weakness,_ he said when he first explained the mate bond to her.

She doesn’t think so. She knows that he only thinks so because he is scared and… The fact that he is scared of her, of what she could do to him… To know that she is not powerless in this.

That is what makes her feel so safe in his arms tonight.

It doesn’t mean that she gets any sleep, or that she doesn’t cling to him all through the night. Though maybe that has more to do with her complicated feelings and the mess they are making inside of her than to do with the storm.

And she doesn’t know how much time passes. Minutes, hours, days. But eventually the noises stop and everything is quiet outside. The ship doesn’t rock anymore.

She stays with him even then.


	6. V

Stunning.

No. Not the city and its colourful buildings and its cobblestone streets. Not the bluest sky anyone has ever seen or the warmest sun rays that touch his skin. Not the people laughing or the children running and playing.

But Caroline. His Caroline. He cannot take his eyes off her.

Her lips are parted in a permanent gasp. She’s trying to look at everything, to take it all in. She’s leaning across the taffrails, as if trying to get closer to all that beauty she’s only ever read about. But, oh, love, no city, no sight could compare to you and your wonder-filled eyes.

Her golden curls are running down her back, the sunlight making them shine in a way that makes him think he’ll have to use melted gold as ink to mimic their colour.

And that bright pink silk dress she’s wearing… She was hesitant about it at first. It’s usually too cold in their realm for anyone to be revealing this much skin, she isn’t used to it. Her shoulders are mostly bare, with only two thin straps connecting the front and the back of the dress. It shows a good deal of cleavage and it clings to her breasts before it becomes looser all the way down to her feet.

He can’t help but reach for her, placing his hand on her lower back. The fabric of her dress is so thin he knows she must be feeling the warmth of his touch. It makes her look up at him for the first time since they caught sight of land. She doesn’t pull back or even tenses.

Caroline’s smile is warmer than any sun.

“It’s beautiful.”

He keeps his eyes locked on hers. “Beautiful, indeed.”

And, oh, he will never not love the way she blushes so prettily for him. He will never not love the way her eyes darken just a little as they flicker to his lips.

You better stop doing that, love. Not even his self-control is flawless… Especially when it comes to you. This wolf is hungry — he has been hungry for far too long. You shouldn’t tease him when you know that he’s been wondering what you taste like.

Klaus thinks about it constantly.

Kissing her, touching her, having her. He doesn’t think she’d have it in her to stop him if he started it, but he knows she’s not yet ready. That she’s still too hesitant, too determined to keep herself one step away from him.

It’s okay. He can be patient.

“Come on,” he says, taking her hand in is. Her quiet gasp is so lovely. 

The ship has finally docked and the ramps have been lowered, allowing them to finally leave it. Caroline is very excited about the prospect of being on land again, he can tell by the way she grips his hand as tight as possible. As if she needs to anchor herself to that reality, because she can’t quite believe it’s truly happening.

“My first step onto foreign lands,” she tells him, grinning so hard her face must be aching as her feet finally touch the floor.

And that… Just the fact that she’s smiling so freely at him, that she’s looking so happy… It’s enough to make him smile, too.

“We’ll have the time to explore everything later,” he assures her as he leads her towards the carriage that’s been awaiting them. “Let me take you home and get you lunch first.”

She rolls her eyes at how pointedly he tells her that. He was worried because she barely ate anything that morning, too nervous to do more than keep him some company during breakfast.

She thinks he worries too much.  _ Humans aren’t  _ that _ fragile _ , she told him. He disagrees, of course, but he didn’t fight her on it. Lest she realizes there is something he isn’t saying. A little secret he’s convinced himself he’s still allowed to keep.

His Caroline is so perceptive, after all.

He shakes his head, and turns to look at her. Her nose is practically glued to the small window of the carriage, doing her best to get a good look at the city as they move through the streets towards his house.

Caroline was surprised to find out he owns a place in Sooraj. He almost could see the wheels turning in her brain when he mentioned that he owned houses all over the world. She has yet to request an official list, but he’s certain it’ll happen soon.

He keeps his eyes on her face as he opens the door of the carriage for her and helps her out. She begins laughing as she looks at his house. He would’ve been offended weren’t for the amazement in her gaze.

“I hope everything is to your taste,” he says, unable not to smirk.

It is the exact opposite of his little cabin in the woods.

It’s big and it’s opulent and it’s on the highest part of the town, offering a privileged view of all of Sooraj. It’s very open, with lots of large windows and balconies and atriums and patios.

He thinks she’ll enjoy that.

Klaus gestures for her to walk inside, following her past the columns and through the arched entry door, which is open, waiting for them.

The servants were told not to bother them unless they were requested — he is selfish enough to want his time with Caroline to go uninterrupted by meddling employees —, but he sent letters detailing how he wanted everything to be for their arrival.

Thankfully, they seem to have successfully abide by his orders. Pity he won’t get to eat anyone… His lovely mate doesn’t deal well with incompetence either, so he’s certain she would’ve understood.

An image flashes through his mind of her sinking sharp teeths into someone’s skin.

“What are you smiling about?” she inquiries.

He’s surprised she even noticed him when she was so busy taking in everything else. “I’m simply glad that you seem to be satisfied with the accomodations.”

“You couldn’t possibly have thought I wouldn’t like this. It’s… It’s beautiful. I love it.”

He’s addicted to it. To the feeling of being the one who is bringing a smile to her lips, being the one who is making her happy. He will do anything for her to stay just like that. Grinning at him, looking at him like she used to before she found out.

“Let me give you a tour before lunch is served.”

He offers her his hand. She takes it without hesitation, squeezes it as if this is the most natural thing in the world.

Admittedly, he has been stealing every touch she will allow him to. His hand on her lower back, his fingers touching her arm to get her attention, his palm cupping her cheek when she lets him get close enough…

But seeing how naturally she welcomes it… He can’t quite describe what that makes him feel.

He shakes his head, forcing himself to focus on the task at hand.

The house only has two floors.

The first is composed mainly of the common areas — living rooms, dining rooms, ballroom, music room —, though there’s also the kitchen, the pantry and the servants area. Outside, he shows her the beautiful, colorful gardens that she immediately falls in love with.

In the second, they find the most private areas. He shows her his study and the room he uses for his paintings. The library has her particularly excited, it’s huge and filled with rare volumes. He can feel her getting tense, however, when he takes her towards the chambers.

They pause in front of a wooden door. She looks at him expectantly and he can her heart speeding in her chest.

“This,” he says, opening up the door for her, “will be your room. Should you find it acceptable, of course.”

They walk into a small living room. There are a few armchairs and a small sofa, and a wall of shelves filled with books. She marvels at it all, but what truly captures her attention is the large window and the view of some of the city and the ocean that she has from it.

There’s a door on the left which leads to her actual bedroom, that she goes explore.

Klaus lingers back, allowing her to take in everything. When she returns, she’s smiling, so it goes without saying that he is, too.

“This is… This is perfect. Thank you,” she says.

He shakes his head. “There’s no need to thank me.”

“Right.” She chuckles. “Purely selfish reasons. I forgot.”

He smirks. “Exactly.”

“You still haven’t told me exactly what are those selfish reasons.”

Caroline takes a few steps towards him until she’s standing right in front of him. Her beautiful blue eyes are demanding as she crosses her arms in front of her body to wait for an answer from him.

He has to fight the urge of grabbing her waist, of pulling her closer.

“I get to have you all to myself,” he says. “To spend time with you without any sort of interference. Besides, I do quite enjoy the look on your face when you are excited. It’s fascinating. I’m addicted to it.”

She rolls her eyes at him, but her smile doesn’t leave her lips. “Not too selfish though. You said this was my room?”

He nods. He knows she must have wondered, must have been anxious about it. In the cabin, he allowed her to keep the bedroom to herself. In the ship, they shared the room, though not the bed. She must have thought that he would take this opportunity to follow through with that progression. But moving too fast… It might scare her away, he can’t have that.

He presses his lips together for a moment. “I’m staying just down the hall. You are welcome to visit, of course.”

She scoffs.

“I thought you said something about lunch?” she prompts, pointedly changing the subject.

Klaus takes a step back, letting go of her as he gestures to the door.

“Follow me.”

 

* * *

 

There is a table set for them in the patio.

Which is good, because the books didn’t lie when they said that Sooraj was extraordinarily hot. There is no wind to sooth it, no cloud in the sky carrying the hope of cooling the weather. She welcomes it.

The constant warmth is the best reminder that she is no longer in her tower. With each breath, she knows that she’s free.

Caroline wants to laugh every time she thinks about it.

For a long while, she thought this would never happen. She thought she would spend the rest of her days confined with her loneliness in that dreadful place. And now she’s here and  _ Klaus _ is with her.

Touching her. Holding her. Smiling at her.

_ I get to have you all to myself. _

She wonders how many times she hoped for the same. Back when he was just a man in her dreams promising her that he was real… She would wake up everyday and feel disappointed that he wasn’t there, that she couldn’t see him. She would wish everyday for it to be true, for him to be somewhere out there, waiting for her. So that one day they could meet and be together.

It didn’t happen exactly how she had hoped it. But despite of everything, the part of her that is happy about being with him grows everyday.

He pulls out a chair for her, and she gives him a thankful smile as he helps her in. Her eyes scan the table. She has never eaten or even seen most of what it’s on there. Klaus is watching her, like he always does.

She can almost see the fear in his eyes. That he’ll say the wrong thing or do the wrong thing and it’ll make her hate him.

She has tried so hard to do so. It’s never worked.

Her fears are different from his, she supposes. She believes now that he’s telling her the truth. That he wants her and that he cares for her. But he’s an immortal monster prone to mood swings. Who’s to say his feelings will last?

Caroline tries to imagine how it’ll be like when he realizes that she’s not special enough to hold his attention. She’s a broken girl who desperately wants someone to love her. She talks too much and always says the wrong thing. She’s too improper and shallow and she cares too easily. He won’t want someone like her.

He’s good at making her almost believe it, though.

“I think you will love the food,” he says, taking his own seat. “It’s quite different from what you are used to, but it’s very good. And we have some of the best cooks in Sooraj working for us.”

_ We. Us. _ She enjoys that.

“Do I even want to know what this is made of?” she asks half-jokingly as she points to what seems to be some sort of stew.

He grins as reaches for a jar. “Just eat it. Help yourself to anything you want.”

She raises her brows as she looks at all her options, trying to decide what she wants to put on her plate. Klaus leans across the table to pour some wine into her glass while she takes her time.

She notices that, when he goes to do the same for himself, he chooses a different jar.

“What’s the difference?” she questions.

He always seems pleased with himself when she notices these small details. Like he’s proud of her. Even when what she does isn’t exactly to his benefit.

“Trust me, sweetheart, you won’t want to drink what I’m drinking.”

Her eyes widen, her eyes dropping to his glass. “Oh,” is all she can say. She supposes that he has the right to feed at any time he wants in his house. And having him do it from a glass is better than having him killing people...

7deaths, 3 disappearances. Such a tragic trip to Sooraj.

This is an improvement.

“It’s wine,” he tells her. “It’s just laced with blood. The servants here are very dedicated.”

She frowns. Did one of them cut themselves just to prepare Klaus a drink?

He’s carefully analysing her reaction. 

She thinks he’s doing this on purpose, inserting reminders of his true nature throughout the day so that she won’t forget he is who he is. So she won’t fall just for the man. So that she will love the monster, too.

She wonders if he too wants someone to look at him — to look at all of him — and not turn away.

And, hell— she’s here, isn’t she? She’s not running away and screaming. She’s giving him an actual chance. Doesn’t he understand that? She knows; she hasn’t forgotten. She can’t forget it.

And he’s looking at her, daring her to say something, daring her to pick a fight.

Caroline looks into his eyes and shrugs, just to spite him.

He keeps his gaze locked on her face, as if desperately trying to understand what she’s thinking, what she’s feeling. He says she wears her emotions on her face, that he can read it all… but she doesn’t think he always understands what he reads.

“It doesn’t bother you?” he presses.

She shakes her head, sighing as she begins reaching for the food. “I mean, I’m not thrilled that the people who work here are harming themselves to do this.”

“They are well paid to do it,” he assures her. He offers her a wicked smile before continuing, “Besides... They  _ want _ me to taste their blood. So, that if I enjoy it, they can be chosen for my next real meal. You’d be surprised if you knew how many of them volunteer to have me feed from them.”

She freezes, frowning at him. “What? Why would they do that?”

He gives her a knowing look as he too begins to put food into his plate.

“Curiosity. Enticement. There is a reason people write and read horror stories, love. Most people are fascinated by monsters. They enjoy the danger, the thrill of knowing that I hold their lives in my hands. That I can take it away or let them keep it. They want to know exactly what I am capable of. If it hurts when I bite. And, forgive my indiscretion, but most of them  _ want me. _ They want to touch me, and they want me to touch them.”

She hopes she’s not blushing.

Caroline wishes she could say she does not understand. That she has never wondered what it would be like. But ever since she saw his sharp teeth, she’s been wondering what it would be like to have them biting her neck. To have him tasting her.

And she does want to touch him. And she does want him to touch her.

Yes, she can understand. It must be thrilling to be in his arms as he feeds.  _ And, God, what is she becoming? _

And she thought that falling for a man she didn’t even believe to truly exist was bad. Now she has these kind of ideas about a monster.

“That’s crazy,” she tells him, but she sounds a bit breathless.

Suddenly, the heat she’s feeling has nothing to do with the hot weather.

She gulps down a lot of wine and almost cries out in relief when he changes the subject.

 

* * *

 

Everything is perfect.

It’s been a week since they’ve arrived in Sooraj. And she’s happy, anyone who looks at her can tell. She smiles so much her cheeks hurt and it is the most wonderful pain anyone ever suffered.

Every morning they have breakfast together at the house before they leave to explore the city. They visit the popular, crowded sights, and they walk idly with no destination in mind, wandering through narrow streets to find hidden gems. Her feet ache at the end of each day, when they finally return home.

Then she will get a book from the library and find herself a seat on the room he uses to create his paintings. She’ll read while he works, both pretending that he isn’t painting her. And when it gets late and she starts yawning too much, he says they should go back to their bedrooms.

Everything is perfect.

Except there is a little voice inside of her that tells her every night that she doesn’t want that day to end. That she wants a little more time with him. And she almost asks him to stay with her.

She’s scared. Not of him, not exactly.

She’s scared of this irritant feeling that’s growing inside of her. She can’t stop it. And she knows it’ll grow too big and crush her bones from within and it’ll hurt.

And everyday she almost tells him that. Everyday she almost confesses just how much she wants him and just how afraid she is. Everyday she almost tells him to come in when he lingers by her door at night. Everyday she almost lets herself believe that this will last.

Everything is almost perfect.

 

* * *

 

Almost, almost,  _ almost _ —

He is tired of that word, tired of it looping through his mind every time he leans in, but she pulls back. Every time they stop by her bedroom door and her eyes tell him that she wants more, but she says good night anyway. Every time she opens her lips to say something, but closes them without uttering a word.

She has accepted that she wants him, he knows that much. But she’s still holding herself back, still keeping herself an inch too far.

He can understand it, of course he can. He expected the hesitancy; he never thought she would simply accept all of it overnight.

But it’s frustrating to watch herself deny it. It’s frustrating to have her deny  _ them _ that. They could be so glorious together. Why stop yourself, love? Why fall short of greatness?

One night it becomes frustrating enough that he doesn’t go to his bedroom after leaving Caroline at hers. He goes downstairs so that he can find something to drink. Something to wash off the taste of those bitter almost kisses.

It doesn’t solve anything, alcohol. It doesn’t even make him feel better for an instant. But he welcomes the burning in his throat all the same.

Perhaps he can find someone to eat tonight. That ought to make things better.

But his thoughts are too consumed with his mate, as they have been ever since his first dream of her. He isn’t thinking as he decides to go back upstairs. He doesn’t know how long it’s passed, doesn’t care if she’s already asleep. They need to talk.

He pauses in front of her door, raises his arm and he almost knocks.

He can hear her even and sound breathing. She’s peaceful and should get some rest, so he turns around on his heels, ready to walk away, but… He stops himself. This can’t go on any longer.

Hell. He is so goddamn tired of almosts.

 

* * *

 

“Caroline. Caroline, wake up.”

She hears someone calling her, feels the hand rocking her shoulder, but it takes her mind far too much time to understand what is going on. She’s gotten used to sleeping until she wanted back in the tower. She doesn’t take kindly to people interrupting her sleep now.

But her brain finally registers that Klaus is in her room and she sits up, startled. “What are you doing here?”

“We need to talk,” he says very seriously. He’s sitting on the edge of her bed, so close to her… It would’ve been tempting, weren’t for the alcohol in his breath.

She frowns, her mind still a little hazy. “Are you drunk?”

“I don’t get drunk.”

She scoffs. “You promised you wouldn’t lie to me, remember?”

He considers her words for a few moments, and decides to stay quiet. As if he doesn’t want to admit that he has such a mortal weakness, but doesn’t want to break his deal with her either.

Caroline shakes her head as she pushes her blankets off of her and moves to stand up. “Come on,” she says, pulling him by the arm so that he’ll join her. “Let me get you back to your room.”

He stands up as she requests, but doesn’t allow her to lead him away. Instead, he grabs hold of her waist, pulling her so that she’s in front of him and making her back away until she’s pressed against the wall.

“Caroline,” is all he says as he traps her there. There is such need in his voice that it has her body melting when it should be tensing.

“Klaus, what are you doing?”

“I want to talk,” he tells her again. 

Both of his hands are on her hips. She wants him to let go. She wants him to hold her tighter.

She sighs. “What do you want to talk about?”

He looks puzzled for a second, as if he doesn’t know what to say or how to say it. “Let’s restart our game of questions and answers, shall we? I’ll go first.” He smiles, not giving her the chance to object before he asks his question… Just like she did to him weeks ago. “What do you want most in the world?”

She shakes her head, trying to clear her mind. She’s frowning at him, trying to understand what he’s wanting with all this.

_ Right now? For you to kiss me,  _ her brain thinks without her permission.

“I don’t… I don’t know.”

He groans. “Not good enough.”

She snorts. “It’s the middle of the night! You can’t wake me up and ask me that sort of question and expect a serious answer right now. Go to sleep and ask me tomorrow when I’m actually awake.”

Klaus doesn’t seem to be listening to her. He just presses his body against her fully, crushing her breasts against his chest.

“Would you like to know what I want most in the world, Caroline?” he asks, his voice no more than a whisper. He leans in to brush his nose against her temple, to breathe her in. She thinks her heart might stop. He doesn’t wait for her answer before he’s saying, “You. I just want you.”

Something inside of her snaps.

There’s such a raw kind of need in his voice. She can tell that he means it. That of everything and everyone that he could have in his entire world, he would choose her. That he wants her by his side more than anything.

But not like this. Not the way she’s been doing it. Not by his side, but one step away.

She’s just so afraid. So afraid of letting you in again and you wrecking her. So afraid that you won’t hurt her and that this will last. So afraid of every possible outcome.

She means to say all of this, but she can’t. She forgets how to use her voice… She stays silent a second too long.

His hands let go of her hips as his lungs let go of this breath he was holding, though for the wrong reason. And he takes one step back… That step back is what has her aching, what has her reaching out before she understands what she’s doing.

Her fingers grip tight onto his shirt.

“Stay,” she pleads. “Just stay.”

It’s too dark, but she can see his silhouette nodding. He steps closer again.

And she doesn’t know how to explain to him what she feels. The fear, the thrill, the excitement. She can’t put it into words.

So all she can do is throw herself against him, wrapping her arms around his neck. Slowly, so slowly, he responds to her and holds her back.

Oh, Klaus...

Do not think she doesn’t understand what this means. That it doesn’t make her heart ache that you never allowed yourself to care for anyone, but with her you couldn’t stop it.

She isn’t quite as presumptuous as to think that you are in love with her. She knows it’s probably been centuries since you’ve forgotten how to, anyway.

But it’s okay, you know. She won’t judge you for it.

Sometimes she walks to the door and goes outside for a few minutes, then comes back inside… Only to leave again. Just because she can. Just to be sure that she won’t be stopped.

And what’s she’s trying to say is — she gets it.

We’re all a little broken.

And it’s not her job to heal you or your job to heal her. None of you have that much power. But she is honored that you are trying. That for her, you are trying.

She’s trying, too. But she’s been afraid to let herself try hard enough.

Caroline takes a deep breath before she pulls back. Her hands slips down his arm until it’s holding his. He tenses for a moment, probably thinking that she will try to take him to his bedroom again. 

But she surprises him, pulling him with her as she lies back down on her own bed.

She thinks of the last time they did this. On that stormy night at sea.

Somehow, this feels more dangerous than the prospect of a sinking ship.

“What I want most in the world,” she tells him once her head is resting on his chest and one of his arms is wrapped around her. His breathing is so even, she thinks he might already be asleep. “I just want this to last.”

 

* * *

 

He wakes up before she does.

Blinking at the ceiling a few times as he tries to remember where he is and what happened. It comes back to him all at once as he glances at the warm body sleeping half on top of him.

Caroline.

His heart swells in his chest as he thinks of last night, of the way she held him, of the way she allowed him here. The way she pressed herself against him and slept with her head resting on his chest.

Lightly, he tightens his hold on her waist, bringing her closer. Closer— he always wants her close. It never seems to be enough... But then again, he has always been a greedy man.

She shifts, as if feeling his need for her. As if needing him, too. She buries her head on the crook of his neck with a little sigh, trying to hide from the little bit of light that begins to find its way inside her room.

He smiles, content to let her have all the time in the world. Content to spend all of eternity just here.

He almost snorts at his own sentimentalism — what a fool he is becoming.

The room is silent, except for the faint singing of the birds outside. His only reminder that there is something outside of these four walls, some sort of existence that doesn’t revolve around the fact that Caroline Forbes is sleeping in his arms. He finds himself not caring about it.

Klaus finds himself not caring about any of it.

He doesn’t care about the people starting to fill the streets, doesn’t care about their ephemeral lives and insignificant mortal worries. He can barely remember they exist unless he’s hungry, unless he’s bored.

He doesn’t care about his servants already busy in the kitchen, doesn’t care about their rushed voices — as if that would stop him from listening — as they fearfully wonder what time they will go downstairs for breakfast today. Afraid of getting it wrong. Afraid of the punishments.

He doesn’t even care about what having a mate will mean when he returns to Nekrotheke. About the whispers he’ll certainly have to hear, about the curious, malicious stares they’ll have to face. He’ll end them all anyway if they ever try to do anything to her.

All that he cares about is the blonde beauty sleeping soundly by his side.

_ Stay... Just stay. _

Her voice was so soft with that request, but desperate, in a way. Like she couldn’t bear to have him put that distance between them — a bigger distance than the one she had been insisting on.

Like her own game of always staying one inch too far was tiring her too.

Klaus considers her body now pressed against his own. There isn’t a single inch separating them, unless you count the fabric of their clothes. And yet he can’t be sure the distances are truly gone. Not until she wakes up.

He used to think — in a far too simplistic manner, he knows — that all that kept them apart was the miles between them. That once he got to her, he could just take her and that would be it.

But things aren’t so simple, apparently. Not when he, against his better judgement and any sense of reason he might possess, decided to  _ care _ for his mate.

It happened earlier than he would like to admit. Back in their shared dreams.

When he saw her the first time, he instantly realized who she was and what meant. It was a matter of playing a game, then. To get her to trust him, to tell him where to find her.

Then he came to know her, though. The feisty woman who never yields, never stood down. And that fire in her eyes… They clashed, at first. Bickering and fighting through the first few weeks. But eventually,, the dynamic shifted. One night she was too tired, even in her sleep, and confided a few things to him. Small at first, then bigger, more important. They became friends. They became something else. Something more.

But it was before this change in their relationship that something inside of himself had sparked. Something new, and yet almost familiar. Something from lifetimes ago. He realized he could never dare put out the fire that burned within her. That he could never just cease her freedom.

So he made her promises. Promises she wanted to hear and… promises he would like to keep, too.

And now here they are. He’s starting to show her the world like he said he would. He’s trying to make sure she’s happy, that she’s comfortable.

Caroline stirs. He forces himself not to tense.

“Good morning, sweetheart,” he says as she stretches her body, probably not even noticing how that’s making her press her breasts against him. God, what this woman could do to him.

Her groan is interrupted by a yawn. As he learned in the past few weeks, she is not a morning person at all.

“Morning,” she replies unenthusiastically.

Some tight knot inside of him is undone when she doesn’t move from her position. Doesn’t move away from him.

“I suppose I should apologize for last night.”

Caroline snorts. “You do realize that is not an actual apology, right?”

He smiles. Does he feel even a little bit sorry for having barged in here yesterday? Not at all. Not when it resulted in such a lovely outcome.

So he just shrugs and pretends he doesn’t know that she’s rolling her eyes at him, even if he can’t see her face.

“I might have grown too impatient yesterday,” he continues, ignoring her remark. “But I understand that you might not yet be ready… for everything.”

There is a pause.

“For things to be like they were in the dreams?” she asks.

Klaus isn’t sure if she means their relationship in general or if she just means the sex, but either way his answer is, “No. I don’t want things to be like in our dreams, Caroline. I want more. I want so much more than that.”

Not just his friend, not just his lover. No — he wants her to be his queen. His equal. He wants her to be everything she has the potential of becoming, wants to be by her side as she achieves everything he knows she can achieve.

Their future will be grand, he is certain of it. If only she’d dare. If only she’d accept everything he can offer her.

She sits up, likely feeling the urge to look into his eyes. He joins her, resting his back against the headboard.

And the way she looks at him… It’s like something inside of her has snapped. Like everything that she has been wanting to tell him ever since they’ve met again is on the tip of her tongue, urging her to utter it.

Caroline still takes a moment to steel herself for what she wants to say, but her gaze keeps locked onto his. Letting him see everything that is going on behind her eyes. She takes a deep breath. 

“I want you. I do.” His heart stops at that first confession. “I think I did since the first time I saw you, but you were an arrogant prick, so it didn’t matter. And then… And then it did, because you wanted me too and it felt… It felt really good, Klaus. It felt really good to know that you wanted  _ me _ . Even if I didn’t believe you were real.”

He wants to tell her that it felt really good to know that she wanted him, too, but he knows he should just let her get it all out.

“And when you came to me that night… I thought I was going crazy, but I almost didn’t mind. I wanted you to be real so much. It was only when you touched me that I  _ knew _ that you were. And I thought… Well, that it meant that everything had been real. Everything we said to each other. And when my parents came… When they told me who you truly were…” she laughs bitterly. “I thought I had been such a fool to believe in all of it. To believe that someone could care about me like that. And I thought… I thought it had been just a game to you. And I was scared of you, scared that you would hurt me. And when they sent me away… I hated myself for missing you. I hated myself for hoping that you would find me.”

Her eyes are filled with tears that he know she’s battling to keep at bay. He doesn’t dare reach for her, doesn’t dare move or breathe. Not until she’s said everything.

Another deep breath. “And when you did… I didn’t know what I should believe in. I wanted you to be telling me the truth, I hoped that you were. But why should I have trusted you? You had lied to me. And because of you, because of the threat you posed to me, they had locked me up in there. And I hated them. And I hated you. But it’s so… It’s so hard to hate you. It’s so hard not to feel safe with you. I meant what I said that day in the cabin. I am giving you a chance, I do believe in you. But this has all been so confusing. And tiring. And I’m still… I’m still scared. Not that you’ll hurt me, but of letting myself believe this is real… And you changing your mind or deciding that I’m not worth it after all. Or—”

“Caroline,” he interrupts her softly. Unable not to.

“I know you will say that you won’t. That you want me, and that it won’t change… But how can you be sure?”

He smiles. “Well, for one, we do have a magical bond connecting us, sweetheart. I couldn’t get rid of you even if I wanted to.” 

She tenses, and, wincing, he realizes it was the wrong thing to say.

“But I won’t want to,” he reassures her. “I’m over a thousand years old, Caroline. And not once did anyone else make me feel the way you do. I’ve never wanted anyone the way I want you.”

She looks away, her ears pinking up. “That’s because of the mate bond.”

“It connects us, it’s true. It makes us crave each other, it makes us want to be close. But it doesn’t… No magic can fabricate feelings,” he explains. “It was what first drew my attention to you, I won’t lie. But it’s not what kept it. It is not the reason why I care.”

If it were just the mate bond, he would’ve done as he told her that day in the cabin: lock her up in a room in his house. Not bothering to care if she was or wasn’t happy, if she was or wasn’t dying inside.

He hopes she understands this, because. Hell–

Too much. He’s saying too much, opening up too much. And yet, he knows it’s not enough. But are there any words that could be enough? He doesn’t think so.

Caroline shakes her head.

For a moment, he thinks she’ll tell him that she doesn’t believe him or she’ll tell him that, indeed, while he can offer her the world, his ragged cold heart is not enough for her.

But it’s  _ Caroline _ . She likes surprising him far too much.

Slowly — and yet too fast, and yet not fast enough —, she leans in. Presses her palm against his stubbled cheek. Her blue eyes are wide as they stare into his, a wicked fire burning bright behind them.

He stays still, waiting for her. Letting her take her time.

Her nose brushes against his for a second that lasts too long. He can feel her breathing caressing his skin, can feel the ghost of the warmth of her lips hovering over his. An inch. A hairbreadth away.

Then there is no distance at all.

Her lips are brushing against his. Temptatively. Softly.

And he tries his best to allow it to be so, to allow her be in control for this moment. But restraining himself is more difficult than he could’ve ever imagined.

This brief glimpse on how she tastes like… It takes every single ounce of self-control he can muster not to take everything he wants just then and there. To allow that softness to continue when his need for her is brutal and all consuming.

But then her tongue is tracing the seam of his lips, politely requesting for entrance, and the second he allows it… That little noise in the back of her throat is enough to throw him off.

Klaus buries his fingers in her hair as his teeth capture her lower lip between them. Her hands are gripping his shoulder and the moving around his neck to press him closer to her.

_ More, more, more, more. _

Nothing they did in the dream world could compare to this. Nothing anywhere in any world could compare to this.

It just feels  _ right _ . Blissfully so.

He kisses her until her lungs protest for oxygen and she is forced to pull back, but even then… He can’t just stop. He keeps on pressing his lips to her jaw, down her neck. Her skin is so delicious on his tongue as he licks his way up the hollow of her throat. And he finds her mouth against.

He doesn’t know when he stands up on his knees, when he wraps his arm around her waist to press her against him. All he can think of is memorizing every inch of her. Starting with her mouth. The feel of her tongue against his own, her teeth, her lips.

He wants her. He wants all of her. It consumes him.

But then she’s pulling back, a hesitant smile on her reddened, swollen lips. “You said we’d go visit the Yellow Lake today. I haven’t forgotten.”

It takes him a moment to remember what her words even mean.

He nods after a few seconds, loosening his grip on her just a little. “I wouldn’t have expected you to.”

_ Though I certainly might have hoped for it just a second ago. _

Caroline grins happily at him, pulling away completely as she moves to leave the bed. “Great. Would you mind telling someone to prepare a bath for me?”

A polite way to tell him to get out of her room.

She seems to notice the way he tenses, because she shakes her head and leans in for another quick kiss. A way to tell him that she’s trying. That she’s not ready for everything, but she wants to be.

He can deal with that.


	7. VI

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter contains smut!

She notices something is wrong when she realizes that house has been silent for far too long.

After that morning when she kissed him, Klaus and her started spending more and more time together. Not just wandering around the city, getting to know everything. But just staying together some quiet days in, getting to know each other.

Caroline enjoys it. It feels good that he cares enough to bother taking the time to show her that she can trust him. Not just trust that he won’t hurt her physically, but also that he will never break her heart.

He’s allowing her to dictate the steps of their relationship, she knows it. The touches and the kisses; when to pull and when to push.

She’s taking it slow. Perhaps far too slow, but being cautious is certainly understandable. At least, he seems to understand it. There is no anger or any sort of resentment in his eyes when she stops his wandering hands or lips. That want, that _need_ still lingers, but he never presses for more.

That does not mean he is willing to play fair, of course.

Klaus bends the unspoken rules as much as he can. He always finds an excuse to walk into her chambers whenever they are about to say good night. A book he wants to read that happens to be in one of her shelves, a rumor he heard that there would be falling stars on the sky tonight… She enjoys this game. Even pretends to be surprised by how he will pull her closer, how his lips will find hers in half a second. And even throughout the day, there is always a reason for him to be close. For him to sit by her side while she reads and idly start touching her until she loses all concentration and is focused only on him.

Which is why that, when she manages to finish her book without any sort of interruptions, she begins to wonder if something is wrong.

Puzzled, she takes to the corridors, trying to find him.

She strains her ears, doing her best to catch any sound that might help her search. Most of the house is oddly quiet. He’s not in his study or in his bedroom and he’s not in his painting room. She even checks through the window to see if he isn’t painting in the gardens, but it doesn’t seem to be the case.

Caroline is walking down a hall full of guest rooms they don’t use when she hears a low grunt.

She frowns, wondering what the origin of that sound could be. Her curiosity is big enough that she doesn’t hesitate and doesn’t even bother knocking before she is opening the door.

The good news is that she finds him. The bad news is that she doesn’t necessarily feel happy she did.

The door opened to reveal a small living room, much like in her own chambers, though simpler than hers. And Klaus is sitting on the sofa with a beautiful girl almost crawling into his lap. His teeth are sunk into her neck.

Caroline crosses her arm in front of her body as she watches him pull back. Something hot and angry burns in her stomach and in her eyes.

He has the nerve to offer her a bloodied smile. “Hello, sweetheart.”

She doesn’t quite know what she’s doing as she looks right at the girl and orders, “Out. Now.”

Klaus chuckles, licking his lips. He seems to be so amused by the situation and, hell, he is infuriating… And she shouldn’t be annoyed, should she? She should be terrified of him. Of what he was doing.

Instead, she is curious.

The girl seems to notice something dangerous in her eyes or tone of voice, because she obeys her quickly, walking past the door with her head low.

He leans back on the couch, looking so smug as he says, “You know there is no reason to be jealous, don’t you? She was just food.”

“I’m not jealous!”

The words sound unconvincing even to her own ears. He smirks. She wants to claw it off his beautiful face.

Her feet move of their own accord, stepping closer and closer to him.

Her heart is rushing inside her chest. Ever since that day she saw him… She has thought what it would be like. To have him feed from her. To let him claim her like that.

In that moment, she almost wishes that she had his sharp teeth. She almost wishes that she could sink them on _his_ neck, so that everyone would know. So that every person in every realm would know that he belongs to her.

It’s an ugly feeling, but her brain has the same word repeating on a loop. _Mine_.

“I’m not,” she insists.

But she pulls the skirt of her dress up — feeling warm with the way his eyes watch like a hawk every inch of creamy skin she exposes, contrasting against the bright red fabric — and places one leg on each side of his body before she’s settling on his lap.

He immediately places his hands on her waist.

She raises her trembling hands to gather all of her hair on one side of her neck.

“Caroline,” he warns, though his voice is suddenly hoarse.

She ignores him. “Let me see you.”

Klaus takes a moment to consider her words. She can see that he wants to, that he’s thrilled with the possibility of drinking from her. But she knows that he’s wary she’s asking for something she can’t handle, and that it’ll drive them apart again.

She knows what she wants, though, and she won’t back away from it.

He seems to notice the resolve in her eyes, probably knows that he can’t talk her out of this — and that he can’t talk himself out of doing it once she asks him to —, because suddenly his features are no longer human.

She smiles.

Who smiles when looking at the face of a monster? … Well, the person who is falling for them.

Ignoring that realization, Caroline reaches to touch him. The probbed veins underneath his golden eyes, the lips that are parted in one dangerous smile full of sharp teeth.

“Careful, love,” he admonishes jokingly, a reminder of the last time she touched him like this.

But today she does not pull back.

She leans in, feeling a rush of excitement go through her as she offers him her neck. His eyes darken a few shades as he breathes her in.

“Bite me,” she demands.

“Are you sure?” he presses, though he leans in a few inches. His breathing tickles her.

She doesn’t hesitate. “Yes. I want you to drink from me.”

His nose nuzzles her temple as he presses his lips against against her cheek first, then down her jaw. And then his mouth is hovering over her neck and that almost-touch makes her shiver.

His teeth prick her skin, the pain more subtle than she thought it would be. And then there is no pain at all.

Caroline gasps as he begins drinking from her.

She doesn’t know what about it feels so good. If it’s his soft moan against her skin, the fact that he is enjoying feeding from her, or if it’s the intimacy of it. The thought of her blood on his tongue, of him learning what she tastes like.

She knows she’s too vulnerable in his arms right now, that if he wanted, he could end her life and enjoy every second of it. But she knows he won’t, knows that he could never.

A proof of her trust in him, that’s what he greedily swallows along her blood.

Her fingers bury themselves in his hair, needing to keep him close. Needing more and more and more.

She feels the too familiar signs of her growing arousal, feels her need for him growing. She bucks her hips against him, desperate for some sort of _touch_ where she needs it most. It’s scary and thrilling how much she enjoys it.

Her cheeks pink up at the boldness of her movement, but Klaus doesn’t seem to mind it. He rocks himself against her, groaning against her skin, as if to encourage her.

Caroline tries again, this time feeling a little more confident as the memories of what they used to do fill her mind. She moans, both at the images her brain shows her and at the friction against her pussy.

Too much and never enough. This is how every second beside him feels, now more so than ever.

It’s good to feel his reaction to this, too. To know that she is not alone in her desperate need for him. She remembers too vividly how it feels to have him inside of her. And if those dreams felt wonderfully sinful, she knows she cannot begin to imagine how his real touch must feel like.

And yet she can’t stop wondering about it.

And when his hands come to rest on her exposed thighs… She wants them to wander higher and higher. And when his long fingers dare venture underneath her skirt, she thinks he will do just as she wants.

But their bolder exploration doesn’t last long.

Klaus pulls back just an inch, now just licking and kissing away the blood that keeps flowing from the wound, but no longer sucking on it. And when he completely pulls away, he removes his hands from her thigh in favor of using one of them to cup her flushed cheek.

His lips have traces of her blood over them, but she doesn't mind. She accepts the coppery kiss he offers her, even if it’s far too brief.

“Are you alright, Caroline?” he asks, tucking one of her curls behind her ear.

 _No_ , she wants to say. _Everything feels too warm, every inch of my body seems to be boiling._

But she can’t seem to find her words, so she just nods. She knows she’s staring at him with wide eyes.

He smiles at her. A kind smile, for once. “You are delicious. So much better than I could ever have imagined. This was a mistake, you know. You shouldn’t have offered me this. I might grow addicted to you.”

Caroline doesn’t think she would mind.

She clears her throat. “It wasn’t awful, I suppose.”

She can still feel his hardened cock pressed against her thigh. Awful is not a word that went anywhere close to her mind in the past few minutes, and they both know it all too well.

He shakes his head, chuckling. “That is good to hear.”

But her face grows serious as she stares into his now human-like eyes, and she notices that he tenses just slightly when she hesitates for a second.

“Back in the cabin, you said that the fact that we were mates meant that I was yours. Just like—” she pauses. “Just like you were mine... Did you mean it?”

She can see the moment he understands what she’s asking him, can see the disbelief in his eyes.

“Yes,” he assures her. “I would never betray you like this, Caroline. The girl was only here so that I could feed, I wouldn’t have touched her for any other purposes. I promise you.

She relaxes a little at his words, and nods, offering him a temptative smile. “Good.”

Caroline idly plays with the hairs on the nape of his neck as she leans in to rest her head on his shoulder. He immediately wraps his arm around her. “There is only you,” he swears.

She believes him.

And she is so caught up in that moment, so focused on him and on his promises and on the happiness it brings her, that she doesn’t even notice that the wound on her neck is already closed.

 

* * *

 

They spend long minutes holding each other.

He presses his lips to her shoulder, breathing her in with his eyes closed. He can smell how much she wants him, can feel how her skin is a bit warmer than usual. It takes everything in him not to capitalize on this.

He caresses her back soothingly, listening for her heart rate to see if it’ll slow. And, hell, he _needs_ her but he must be patient a little longer.

They are making progress. She trusts him enough to let him feed from her and to enjoy it so much that she doesn’t feel the urge to step away from him the moment it is over. She is no longer scared of him.

And yes, she’s said so already, but now she gave him proof. Now he can be certain.

A small smile stretches across his face.

He’s so hungry for his pretty Caroline. This small sample she offered him could never be close to being enough. His need for her has been building for centuries, and he has spent the last few weeks as a famished man in front a feast.

Waiting is the last thing he wants to do, his mouth waters every time he catches her scent in the house, every time he hears her blood rushing through her veins, every time he looks at her. And yet, wait he must.

Oh, sweetheart, can you see what you’re doing to him? Do you know how close he comes to claiming you whenever you give him the smallest hint that you wouldn’t mind it?

You enjoy teasing him far too much. But certainly you’ve heard about what happens to those who play with fire…

And yet here you are. Today you chose to play a dangerous game with a monster, let his sharp teeth pierce your skin. You know he will never let you go now, don’t you? You know that now he will have to taste all of you.

He wants your blood against his tongue again, of course. But he also wants to memorize every inch of your skin with his lips, and, most importantly, he wants to learn what that your arousal will feel like in his mouth.

Can you imagine it, love? You sitting on a throne with your thighs spread for him while presses his tongue inside of you, a crown resting on your head. In his mind, you have sharp teeth, too.

Slowly, Caroline disentangles herself from him so that she can pull back to look at him. Her breathing has calmed down, but her eyes are still darkened and filled with lust.

He reaches to trace her cheekbone with his thumb, needing to touch her. Needing to know this is real.

He’ll never get tired of the prickling in his skin whenever it touches hers. And by the soft gasp that escapes her lips, he thinks it’s safe to say she feels the same.

“Let me take you out to dinner,” he says somewhat impulsively.

Addicted— Klaus isn’t exaggerating when he claims to be addicted to the spark in her eyes, to her sunshine smile. And offering her a new experience is a sure way to get them both.

She’s already looking at him with her ever-growing curiosity. “Sure,” she laughs. “It’s only fair that you feed me, since I fed you.”

He smirks, feeling his gums ache for another taste.

 _Soon_.

Caroline smiles, too. She looks so happy, so comfortable in his arms. Those annoying walls she built around herself in their time apart are nowhere to be seen… He rather enjoys the almost audible sound of them tumbling down.

She leans in, presses her lips against his in a soft, quick kiss. Her hand lingers on his cheeks as she pulls back.

“I really enjoyed this,” she blurts out, as if she didn’t plan it but felt the need to say it anyway.

And then she’s blushing and offering him a shy little smile. And in that moment he knows… She does not care if he’s beast or if he’s man. She cares for him all the same, wants him the same.

“So did I,” he assures her. “You taste divine.”

“I’m glad you don’t find my blood disgusting or anything of the sort,” she laughs.

He shakes his head. “I could never.”

She’s grinning again, her thumb caressing his cheek so tenderly. “Come on,” she says, moving to stand up. “You promised me food. I’m _starving_.”

Oh… So is he, sweet one. So is he.

 

* * *

 

Dinner is perfect.

She loves the food, smiles a lot and, whenever she isn’t busy holding the cutlery, her hands are playing with his over the table. Like she can’t help but touch him. She’s all soft caresses and mischievous eyes that make him grip onto his wine glass a little tighter.

And after they leave the restaurant, she slips her hand in his, asks him if it’s okay that they walk home rather than take the carriage. It’s such a beautiful night, after all. And he agrees, of course, eager to spend a little longer with her.

They walk through the narrow cobblestone streets, laughing and talking and exchanging charged looks.

Something shifted in their dynamic when she asked him to feed from her. When she finally accepted who he is, all that he is.

He feels euphoric, blissful. Better than he has in centuries — perhaps better than he has his entire life.

He feels his wolf humming against his skin, pleased… But not yet satisfied. Not entirely.

_Will he ever be satisfied?_

“What are you thinking about?” Caroline asks him. Curious, she’s always so curious.

Klaus offers her a smirk. “You.”

She rolls her eyes, but a smile reaches her lips all the same. “Of course you are,” she teases. “I doubt you can think of anything else when you have me by your side.”

And she is just joking, but his voice is very serious when he says, “Indeed.”

Her cheeks flush beautifully for him, and she squeezes his hand in a silent thank you. For a moment, he can only feel angry at how unnaturally she takes this sort of declaration. At how she seems to be completely unused to someone enjoying her this much, caring this much.

But it doesn’t matter. Soon she will learn not to accept anyone treating her like less than the queen she is.

In the meantime, he, of course, will take a lot of pleasure on taking care of those who so much at look at her the wrong way… Because how could anyone dare? How could anyone stare at her beauty, at the light she carries with her anywhere she goes, and not fall to their knees in awe?

They should be thankful to ever be in her presence.

“Is everything okay?”

Her voice brings him out of his thoughts. He smiles when his eyes meet her worried ones. So perceptive, his Caroline. It does please him how much she pays attention to his little tells.

“Of course,” he assures her. “Today was a rather perfect day, wouldn’t you agree?”

Her smile is bright and wide and her cheeks must hurt from it, though she doesn’t seem to particularly care. There is a very soft breeze fighting to bring them a little relief from the heat, and it’s making her hair dance.

He wants to paint her just like that. Red dress, golden curls.

“I would,” she says, just as they reach his — _their_ — house. “But the night isn’t over yet.”

His lips twitch. Surely she doesn’t mean for her words to sound this enticing… Oh, love, you enjoy teasing him far too much. Can’t you see that you should be more careful? That it is taking everything in him not to press you against the nearest surface and have you?

He can almost hear how prettily you would moan for him. Scream his name.

Caroline does not let go of his hand as they walk inside. He watches her carefully, trying to read her cues and tells. But when she notices his stare, she just shoots him an amused one and strokes the back of his hand with her thumb.

He raises his brows at her, and she grins at him.

“What is it?” he asks, fighting the urge to smile too.

She shrugs as they head up the stairs. “I’m just happy.”

His wolf is always so pleased to see her content. He is always so pleased to see her like this. To see her like this because of him. “So am I,” he says, and he really means it.

But reach the door of her chambers far too soon, and his heart sinks a little when she finally lets go of his hand… Though that is remedied by how she places both of them on his chest.

Klaus smirks. That means he can take a few steps closer.

Her back is pressed against the door and he is almost pressed against her body, allowing her just a little space. His hands come to rest on her hips and he is smiling as he leans in and in until his nose is brushing against hers.

“So we’re both happy,” she mutters, sounding a little bit breathless. “That’s good.”

He hums in agreement. “Very good.”

It’s a game they play, taunting each other with being too close. Just to see who will give in first.

And while he’s usually excellent at holding back… Tonight he is the one to move first. He brushes his lips against hers desperately, in a bruising kiss. And her hands… It’s so soft the way they slid up his chest and over his shoulders to wrap themselves around his neck.

He presses himself against her fully, then. Crushing her body with his, needing to feel every inch of her… Of course, their bloody clothes are still in the way.

And it is a battle he fights valliant, not ripping her dress into pretty red shreds that his servants would stare at enviously when they cleaned up.

But it’s Caroline who blindly scours for the door handle to let them inside. And they stumble into her room without breaking apart, his hands start wandering, needing to feel her.

He smiles against her lips when she gasps for him after he grabs her ass. She buries her fingers in his hair, wanting to keep him closer. He thinks she might be getting addicted to this, too.

And they laugh when they collide against the sofa, and it’s only his tight hold on her that keeps her from falling. But it makes her pull back to look at him.

And for a moment, he thinks she’ll push him away or ask him to stop. But she shakes her head, as if noticing his train of thought. “I’ve missed this.”

Not just the touches, he knows.

But also it being easy to be with him. Being easy to care for him. To want him. To spend hours in his company and not feel wary or scared or guilty.

Klaus reaches to cup her cheek. “I did, too. Everyday.”

Every hour. Every minute. Every second.

He almost can’t believe this is real. That he finally has her with him… But the fact that he is touching her, how it feels when he touches her… Oh, that makes him achingly aware that this is happening.

Achingly aware of what could happen.

Her eyes are shining so bright. She doesn’t look at him like she used to, no. Those night had been a pretty fantasy, and so had been the love in her eyes. But tonight… It isn’t quite love, not really. Not yet. But it feels real and glorious and permanent.

She looks at everything he is, and she doesn’t turn away.

Klaus wonders if she knows that it goes both ways. That he has seen the parts of her she dislikes, every flaw she seems to think she possesses... and yet he has adored them all. Nothing would ever make the strength of his devotion for her waver.

“Will you stay with me tonight?” she breathes, her fingers playing with the hairs on the nape of his neck.

He smiles. “Do you have to ask?”

She rolls her eyes. “Well, I’m polite, so I don’t just _demand_ things from other people.”

He doesn’t think he has ever heard a more blatant lie. Ordering people around is one of her favorite hobbies, after all. She seems to notice that he’s about to point that out, because she is suddenly kissing him again.

Klaus can agree that is the best distraction.

Or perhaps it is the way that, when she pulls back, she grabs his hand again and, throwing a smirk at him over her shoulder, she begins leading him towards her bedroom.

He stays one step behind her, just so that he can watch the enticing sway of her hips.

Caroline closes the door as soon as he walks inside, and after that _click,_ suddenly  everything is very silent. Not awkwardly so, but not entirely comfortably either. They are standing too close and he wants to reach for her, but he doesn’t know what exactly her offer for staying the night involves.

She seems to notice his indecision, because she decides to make it clear for him.

She takes a few steps forward, keeping her back to him when she stops. She just gathers all of her hair on one side of her neck and looks at him over her shoulder. “Would you help me with my dress?”

Klaus swallows audibly.

“Caroline–” he says warningly.

But she just smiles at him. And how could he ever deny her when she asks him, “Please?”

He moves until he’s standing right behind her. His fingers are itching to touch her, to feel her beautiful skin against them. So he reaches for the zipper on the back of her dress, and slowly drags it down. He makes sure to brush his knuckle against her spine on his way down.

She turns her head to look at him once he’s done, her dress now hanging loosely around her. If he were just to slide the straps down her shoulders and tug it down… But she’s staring at him and her lips are so close to his… He takes advantage of that first.

Caroline rests her back against his front as she allows him to explore her mouth with his tongue. He wraps his arm around her waist to keep her pressed to him.

But his hands begin wandering again, and soon one of them is moving up and up until he is grabbing one of her breasts, squeezing it through the fabric of her dress. She moans for him when he does so.

And he can already smell her arousal… The loveliest scent.

She is pushing against his hold so that she can turn around to face him, and he allows her the space to do. She doesn’t waste time before she’s moving to grab the hem of his shirt, moving it up until they have to break apart to allow her to take it off.

Such a pretty, hungry gaze in his mate’s eyes.

Klaus smiles at her — the baring of teeth of a predator… And he is so thrilled when she responds in kind, when he sees that dark glint in her eyes.

Caroline raises her chin at him as she reaches to touch him. She keeps her eyes locked on his as her hands make their way down from his chest. His muscles tense underneath that hint of her nails. And there is such a lovely challenge posed by the raising of her eyebrows when her fingers reach the waistband of his pants.

His cock twitches in response.

And yet, he grabs her wrists to stop her. She dares look disappointed.

“It seems that you’ve forgotten my lessons, sweet one. Don’t you remember how I taught you that good things come for those who wait?”

Ah, there it is. That blush in her cheeks… It spreads down her neck as she nods, a bit too frantically.

But that small spark of insecurity that appears in her features...  He rushes to reassure her, “Make no mistake, Caroline. I have been craving your touch for too long now, and I do desperately want it… But not as much as I want to touch you first.”

That fire he adores so much makes it appearance behind her eyes. “Touch me, then.”

That is not a challenge he’d ever back away from.

So he reaches for the straps of her dress, they need only a little encouragement before they are falling off her shoulders. Her neckline dips a little as she moves to slip the straps down the rest of her arms.

And then he tugs her dress down and it’ suddenly pooling at her feet.

His gaze roams her entire body twice. He loves that there is no hint of shyness in her face as he meets her eyes once more. He taught her a long time ago that she has no need to ever feel embarrassed in front of him, that he loves every inch of her… He’s glad she remembers that.

There is so much he wants to do to her. It’s hard to even focus on choosing a first one.

But he raises his hand to touch her anyway, needing to feel beneath his palms all of her.

Her breathing hitches when his skin brushes against hers, her eyes fall shut. And something inside of him snaps at the small sound of satisfaction that escapes her throat… He’s pulling her closer, clashing his mouth against hers.

And the feel of her breasts pressed against his bare chest… He has never felt anything like this before. The touches they shared in their dreams were nothing when compared to this. To this electricity running between them.

Klaus starts walking, leading her towards her bed.

She quickly pulls back from him to lie down when the back of her knees hit the bed. And has he ever seen anything more beautiful than his mate lying down on a mattress, naked, waiting for him?

He doesn’t think so.

It makes him eager to join her, so soon he finds himself hovering on top of her.

Every cell in his body seems to be begging him to touch her, to kiss her again, but he ignores that need for a moment to just look into her eyes. “Do you want this?”

_Are you sure you won’t regret this?_

“Yes,” she breathes. “I want _you_.”

That’s all he needs to hear.

He leans in to kiss her very briefly, taking a moment to capture her lower lip between his teeth before he is moving. Pressing kisses down her neck, teasing her with (human) teeth… Enough to leave a mark.

But then he starts to make his way down.

His lips trace her collarbones, make a path down her sternum before moving sideways… She gasps and grips the sheets when he sucks one of her nipples, bites it lightly. He stares up to find her gaze, but her eyes are closed, and, oh, he can’t have that.

“Look at me,” he snarls against her skin, smirking when she immediately complies.

Her blue eyes are almost entirely darkened.

He can see her struggle to keep them open when he moves to her other breast, but his lovely Caroline follows through.

The effort becomes greater the further south he ventures, but he’s taking a slow path. His hands and lips are eager to feel her, but he knows they have all the time in the world for this. And he plans on being very thorough on his rediscovery of her body...

For instance, her body now tenses and jerks instinctively when he touches the spot beneath her ribs. Ticklish. She didn’t used to be in the dreams... He cannot wait to learn all the new tells of her body, to memorize every one of them. Every inch of her.

Her eyelids flutter in spite of herself when he traces the skin between her hip bones with his tongue.

And, oh, the way she spreads her legs for him, so invitingly…

But he pulls back.

“Klaus,” she cries out in a warning.

He can see the way her body is trembling, can hear how her heart is beating too fast inside her chest. And now, sitting back on his calves, he has such a privileged views of the way her arousal is coating her inner thighs…

“Shh,” he soothes her, placing his hand on her thigh. She shivers. “I’ll take good care of you, sweetheart. Don’t you worry.”

She nods as a way of letting him know she heard him, but she still eyes him suspiciously.

He grins at her before placing his lips on her left knee. His hands caress her calves as he starts making his way up her inner thighs. Caroline is shaking halfway through it, but she keeps her gaze locked on his as he requested.

His stubble scratches her skin, the hint of his teeth that show up every few kisses… He can see how hard she is gripping the sheets, the white of her knuckles showing.

But she gasps for him so prettily when he reaches the apex of her thighs, and all her muscles tighten as if to prepare herself for his touch… He stares a moment at all the pretty pink sleakness. She is too frustrated to even blush for him.

And when he gives her pussy a long lick… _“Klaus!”_

Oh, he loves the way his name sounds falling off her tongue. It’s almost as sweet as her frustrated cries when that touch is all he offers her before he pulls back… Only to press his lips to her right knee.

So desperate for his touch, his mate. He can understand, of course. His cock is already throbbing for her… But he’ll be patient a little longer. He knows it’ll be worth it.

Caroline looks like she’s close to crying in relief when he finally finishes his second trail of kisses.

“You’re so lovely, sweetheart. So lovely,” he mutters more to himself than to her. “One day, I’ll sink my teeth right here.” He bites the spot at the very top of her inner thighs with his human teeth. She is panting for him. “I want to learn what your blood will taste like when mixed with your release.”

“Do you need me to _beg?”_ she blurts out, not impressed with his stalling… Though he suspects that she’s enjoying the picture he’s painting her far too much, if he’s to judge by the quickening in her breath.

Klaus grins up at her. “That would certainly be lovely,” he says, satisfied that she remembers his likings. “But there is no need for it today.”

Before she can snap at him for him to get on with it then, he presses his tongue inside of her.

This time, she does close her eyes — though she opens them a second later, probably worried that he’d stop otherwise.

And she looks so beautiful like this. Her legs spread for him, letting him taste her, while her eyes are so hazy in their lust… He’ll convince her to let him paint her just like this later. Such an inspiring muse.

Caroline begins to rock her hips against his mouth, desperate for more. He begins to rub her clit with his thumb, wanting to hear more of the pretty sounds she is making for him. The moans and the gasps and the whispers of his name.

“This feels so good,” she manages to say in a rare moment of coherency. “Please don’t stop.”

He would never.

He doesn’t think he could if he wanted to. Everything in him is yelling at him to please his mate. He wants her a mess spread on these sheets, sated because of him. Because of his touches.

Klaus switches his tongue with his fingers, so that he can wrap his lips around her clit. The moment he sucks the sensitive bud… She lets go of the sheets, in favor of burying her fingers in his hair.

“I’m so close,” she breathes.

He fingerfucks her faster, meeting the bucking of her hips. With her free hand, Caroline begins to palm one of her breasts, reshaping it in her hold. His cock is painfully hard in his pants as he watches her pinch her nipple.

He curls his fingers inside of her as they move, brushing them lightly against her walls and then she comes, gasping out his name.

Klaus takes that opportunity to lap up at her release.

His eyes almost roll to the back of his head in pleasure… Slightly different from what he had learned in the dreams, but somehow even better. He cannot be sure of what he enjoys more — this or her blood on his tongue.

He must mix the two soon.

And, oh, she looks so beautiful as she lies there, panting as she tries to come down from her high. Her body has melted against the mattress and pillows. Her muscles, so tight moments ago, now completely relaxed.

And yet, he needs only to look into her eyes to know that she’s not yet sated.

She’s greedy, too, he’s mate. What a lovely pair they’ll make.

Klaus moves up so that he can capture her lips with his, allowing her to taste herself on his tongue. Can you feel this, sweetheart? Can you understand what you did to him just now? How thoroughly you wrecked him?

His blood is boiling in his veins, his monstrous side begging to come out and play, too. His wolf desperately wants to have her.

“You are so utterly perfect,” he breathes against her lips, feeling more and more frantic.

“Can I touch you now?” she asks him teasingly, her hand already moving in-between their bodies to reach for him.

He doesn’t stop her this time. And when she palms him through his pants… His wolf howls inside of him. He is certain his eyes shine golden for a few minutes… She looks very amused at that.

But he can’t– there is just this _need_ inside of him, and all that he can say is, “Hands and knees.”

The command is a familiar one. As much as he loves watching her face as he makes her fall apart… He has always enjoyed taking her from behind. To claim her like that. And right now, that’s what his wolfs need.

And by the glint in her eyes, he can tell that is what she wants too.

Caroline complies quickly. And, oh, what a sight she makes with her face buried in the pillows and her ass thrust in the air for him, her legs spread.

Klaus removes his pants, throwing them carelessly over his shoulders.

He takes his cock in his hand, stroking himself a few times. He moans in relief and her breathing hitches when she realizes what he’s doing.

“I need you,” she tells him. “Now, Klaus.”

Perhaps he would’ve usually reminded her that he doesn’t particularly enjoy being given orders, perhaps he would’ve teased her for far longer, but… Not being inside of her feels wrong. Denying them that any longer seems unacceptable.

So he buries himself inside of her. Slowly. Giving her the time to adjust.

It is very, very hard not to start moving at that very moment. Nothing has ever felt this good. He was made to be inside of her… And the way he can feel her walls stretching around him, the soft gasps that are escaping her lips…

He used to think that what they did in the dream world was the definition of perfection, but he was wrong. This– he doesn’t have the words to describe it.

“Caroline,” he breathes her name like a religious man in a temple. But no religion has ever had someone as devoted to its Gods as he is to her.

_“More.”_

He cannot deny her that. So he begins moving.

He doesn’t bother restraining his wolf, allows it to be as close to surface as possible. His eyes turn and stay golden this time.

His thrusts are rough, fast. Like he wants to engrave himself in her skin, because, well.. That is precisely his intention. He wants to make sure that she never forget this, never forget that she belongs to him.

His pretty mate. His Caroline.

“You feel perfect, sweetheart,” he praises, gripping her hips almost bruisingly. “So very tight around me… I love the way you give yourself to me. The way you spread your thighs and let me have you. And you are so eager for me… I have missed this, Caroline. I have thought about being inside of you everyday since I first saw you in our dreams.”

She moans his name, an encouragement to keep him talking. She did always enjoy that, he hasn’t forgotten.

“Even when you let me touch you then… I kept wondering how much better it would be in real life. And, _hell– Caroline_. My imagination could never make justice to how it truly feels to be inside of you. To have you moan my name like that.”

He begins to fuck her faster and faster, until he can hear the sound of his ball slapping against her skin. Until she’s such a quivering mess underneath him, that he has to wrap his arm around her waist to secure her.

Klaus uses that as an opportunity to begin rubbing her clit, rolling it between his fingers, pinching it.

She cries out for him.

“This feels so good,” she says, the words muffled by the pillow.

She sounds so breathless, so desperate for him. It makes his thrusts harsher, his instincts driving him to give her what she needs from him.

And he can feel the way she tenses, can feel the moment that tension snaps.

_“Klaus!”_

This time she does scream his name as she comes for him a second time tonight. And all he can do is keep on fucking her, prolonging her orgasm. He grits his teeth, suddenly feeling the very strong urge to mark her with his come. To watch his release dry on her thighs… To have his scent linger on her.

“You are mine, Caroline,” he mutters. Unsure himself if it’s a reminder or a promise. “Mine.”

And her breathing is too heavy and she can barely find her voice, but she manages to say, “Yours.”

So his control shatters, her admission —  _her confession_ — wrecking it completely.

He spills inside of her as he whispers “Mine,” over and over again.

* * *

 

Caroline has never felt like this before.

Safe, whole, _happy_.

She is still breathless and there is a delicious kind of exhaustion settling in her bones. She wants to lie down by his side, wants to entangle their legs while she rests her head on his chest. Wants him to hold her until dawn breaks.

He pulls himself out of her, and she turns around to rest her back on the mattress. He’s staring at her

She smiles brightly at him, wanting him to know that she meant it. That she knows she is his… And that he is hers.

And, God, his gaze is still so hungry. It sparks something inside of her. Her smile turns feral.

She understands now what he meant when he said that their bond would grow stronger once he claimed her… She can almost see the threads that are linking them, can feel their pull.

Klaus seems to feel it, too. Because he’s leaning in again, coming closer and closer until there is not distance between their lips anymore.

The taste of him… It makes something inside of her snap.

And before she realizes, before she even knows what she is doing, she has inverted their position and she is on top, straddling him. And she just feels so hungry for him… Hell, she wants to eat him whole.

Without meaning to, and fast — far too fast for a human — she moves her lips from his so that they are hovering over his neck. And, for a moment, she swears that she can hear the blood rushing through his veins and then—

And then she’s feeling that blood on her tongue.

Then she’s enjoying feeling that blood on her tongue. Down her throat. And that is all she can possibly focus on… Because it feels too good, too perfect. Too addictive.

She is vaguely aware of the way he buries his fingers in her hair. Not to pull her away, but to keep her close. And he… He moans for her. Like he is enjoying this, too.

And it is that sound from her mate that has reality crashing back through her.

Caroline pulls back. Eyes wide, lips parted in a gasp.

She can feel the blood in her mouth, but it doesn’t seem to have that metallic, disgusting taste. Or it still does, but it’s different. Richer. She can’t help but lick her lips to taste more of it… Her tongue brushes against something pointy.

He is staring at her in awe, but with a small smile in his face.

She brings her hands up to touch her mouth, to feel what is wrong and—

Her teeth are as sharp as knives.

 

* * *

 

Klaus watches as confusion rushes through her.

She looks horrified for a moment, and then she looks at him, looks at the wound on his neck that he can already feel closing… And she gasps, hurriedly moving to get away from him.

He grabs both her wrists to stop her.

“Caroline,” he says firmly. “It’s alright. You are alright.”

He can’t help but think she looks stunning like this. Her eyes as golden as her hair and the sharp teeth in her mouth… What a pretty little monster.

She shakes her head. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t– I didn’t mean to hurt you. Oh– What is happening to me?”

“It’s alright, sweetheart,” he repeats himself, sitting up so that he can look into her eyes better. “You didn’t hurt me… I felt exactly what you did when I fed from you earlier today, remember? You enjoyed that, didn’t you?”

Still shaking, still looking terrified… She nods, as if forcing herself to focus on his words.

Klaus reaches to cup her cheek, wanting to calm her down… The second his palm touches her skin, her heartbeats slow down. In a few moments, her face looks human once again.

He watches as she feels her teeth with her tongue, as if trying to make sure they are back to normal. She now winces at the taste of blood lingering in her mouth. But mostly, she just looks very, very scared.

And, oh no… He can’t have that. Can’t have her ever being frightened when sharing his bed.

“What was that?” she asks him, voice trembling like her hands.

He stays silent for a moment, trying to think of the best way to answer to her question. He doesn’t think she will be very happy with him.

“My apologies, sweetheart,” he begins. “I thought I would have more time to prepare you for this.”

Caroline’s fiery eyes seem to want to burn him into a crisp as she pushes his hand away from her face. “Prepare me for what?”

Klaus cannot contain his smile.

“Your transition,” he says. “With the bond growing stronger, you will become more and more connected to me, yes?” She reluctantly nods. “And, well, the magic that connects us… It’s clever. My mother was always very creative in her spell. What good would it be to give me a mate I would lose in a few decades? What kind of weakness would that represent?”

She frowns at him. “What exactly are you telling me? That the bond made me become… Like you?”

Her eyes flicker to the no longer existing wound on his neck. She seems to feel a little calmer as she notices that he truly wasn’t hurt.

“Not yet,” he explains. “It’s a work in progress. I didn’t think… I didn’t think the change would be noticeable right away.”

Klaus stares at her expectantly — waiting for accusation and screaming and declarations of hatred.

But Caroline seems divided between being disappointed and… relieved?

“Why didn’t you tell me?” she demands to know. “You… You promised you would tell me everything.”

A fair question, he supposes.

He nods. “I know. And I am sorry. However, I thought that it would be better if you first accepted the mate bond. Since it would’ve required for you to accept what I am first… I thought maybe it would’ve been easier for you to imagine being like me.”

Her eyes spend long moments assessing him. He doesn’t like the wariness he seems in them, but he knows that he doesn’t have the right to complain about it.

It doesn’t mean he will not feel frustrated about it, though.

“You should’ve told me,” is all she says.

But she doesn’t pull away from him, doesn’t seem disgusted to be touching him. To having agreed that not long ago that she was yours. And he wasn’t wrong. It is relief that is shining in her eyes now.

“You seem to be taking it well,” Klaus comments carefully.

Caroline snorts. “I mean, is there anything I can do to stop it from happening?”

“Would you even want to stop it?”

His question is met with silence.

He heard her that night she thought he was already asleep. _What I want most in the world is for this to last._

Klaus has spent long moments ever since wondering what exactly she could’ve meant by that. And he is almost completely certain that her biggest fear is that he will move on, that he will forget her. That he will leave her behind like everyone always did with her.

But now she can know that it will never happen. That they will be together… Forever.

He doubts his mother ever thought he could grow to truly love someone. She probably wanted to shackle someone to him, someone he would despise for being a weakness that others could exploit. Someone who would despise him for who he was and for what he turned them into.

But Caroline, love… Can you understand what this means? The future that you could have together?

She lets out a breath and shakes her head. The corner of her lips are twitching as she tries to fight down a smile. “I would be immortal, too?”

“We could share eternity,” he assures her. “Visit every corner of the world… As many times as you wanted.”

Is it desperate of him to appeal to her wanderlust? He doesn’t care.

Because he can already see in her eyes that she is thinking about it, that she is imagining all that could be. All they could be.

“I don’t want to kill anyone,” she tells him. A condition.

Klaus wants to tell her that she will likely change her mind in a few decades or a century, but knows better than to do it. Instead, he says, “I can teach you to control your thirst. You’d still have to drink from humans, but… You wouldn’t have to drain them.”

She stares at him, considering his suggestions… She nods.

And then — “If you _ever_ keep anything from me again, I _will_ find a way to hurt you. And from what you’re telling me, I might soon be able to do some harm.”

He smiles. Oh, he would love to see that.

“I promise I won’t.”

Caroline hums in agreement, offering him a wicked smile before she reaches in between them to brush a fingertip against his cock. It takes everything in him not take her again in that moment. But he focus on the cruel tone in her voice as she says, “Because I bet that there are certain parts of you that wouldn’t appreciate having my teeth on them.”

Klaus feels a rush of excitement go through him.

“So vicious…” He smirks, feeling relieved when she rolls her eyes at him… He’s come to think of it as her way of demonstrating affection. And when she relaxes a little against him… He can’t help but lean in and say —

“You’ll be such a lovely monster.”


	8. epilogue

Once upon a time there was a king and a queen.

Not your usual fairytale, mind you. There was an evil witch and an ancient curse, that is true. But no prince charming or damsel in distress. And no happy ending — though that is only because their story has no ending.

Together, they rule a dark realm.

He is feared. She is both feared and loved.

The immortal queen has a warmth in her eyes that has never faded. But don’t mistake it for kindness, don’t expect her mercy. There is a wickedness in the curl of her lips that you won’t notice until she is too close — until her sharp teeth are already a second away from tearing into your throat.

She will smile with your blood coating her lips and you will find it lovely.

Don’t find it _too_ lovely, though. Or you may find yourself going from a sweet death on her hands, to a vicious one on the king’s.

Adore her, yes, or he will make you pay. But keep your hungry gaze away from her sacred skin.

She is _his_ , you little fool. Do not ever forget this.

And when the queen rolls her eyes and smiles at the king, you will almost think them human. Do not make that mistake. The looks they exchange are a silent negotiation over who has the right to your life.

You never thought the king would concede anything to anyone, but you are likely to see him nod and let her have her fill.

You’ll see her monstrous face inching towards you and you will fear her, but you will feel blessed to have her even touch you.

And when you are no more than a forgotten corpse at her feet, the king will taste you on her tongue. He will hold her in a way that you could’ve only ever dreamed of.

And he will keep on holding her even after your bones have turned to dust.

They will become the nightmare of your children and your children’s children… And on and on it goes.

Everlasting.

**Author's Note:**

> I really hope you enjoyed this! And please let me know your thoughts!!


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